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Insight from a truly local perspective
By Doug Jakobsen | October 4, 2007
Algorithm, optimization, geo-targeting, natural results, sponsored search, max bid price are all terms we can easily define in our industry.
But how do you communicate these concepts to the local business owner in Anytown, USA without over-complicating the idea of growing their business by harnessing the power of search engines to reach customers looking for their products or services in their corner of the world?
To sell a small business owner, who truly is seeking a very local customer, on the effectiveness of local SEM, we first have to understand Joe Plumber’s impressions of our industry.
Here are ten insights we’ve gained in speaking directly with local advertisers:
- Natural results vs. Sponsored results
“I don’t need to pay to be on a search engine…I always appear in the top of the search results page when I look for my business.” No other comment is repeated more often. Small business owners need a clear explanation on the differences between sponsored and natural results areas of a search engine page and how/why a Web site might appear in each area. Most importantly, we have to explain the added value of SEM to any business. - SEO vs. SEM
“Yeah, I’m doing SEM – I just paid a guy to improve my site.” Many advertisers do not understand that SEO, while the right thing to do for the business’ Web site, it’s not the same as actually advertising that Web site on the search engines. - The SEM misconception as “world wide advertising”
Many small business owners perceive SEM as advertising that will appear all over the country (or world) since the same search engines are used by people all over the country/world. They need, in simple terms, an understanding of how advertising on any search engine can be targeted to reach the specific geographic area their business serves. - SEM is not a magic wand
Business owners that decide to try SEM are sometimes frustrated when they don’t see it immediately translating into new customers like they thought it would. We must help them understand that SEM is like any other form of advertising. At the end of the day, it’s a lead generation tool. There are things that will get an advertiser more leads, and there are things the advertiser needs to do to close those leads. SEM is about getting customers through the door. What happens beyond that is dependent upon the quality of the Web site, the relevance of the content, and the list goes on… - Doing it yourself becomes a burden
Small business owners who set up SEM on any of the major search engines themselves often realize they don’t have time or knowledge to successfully manage it. After all, they do have a local business to run. - Picking keywords
Small business owners tend to only think about their business from their perspective. They end up choosing to only bid on a limited number of keywords that they might use to search for their business. In doing so, they leave untapped a base of potential customers searching for them by other relevant terms. - Advertising on other online sites or directories already
“I’m paying for advertising on a yellow page directory/through an industry-specific Web site, and so I see my business showing up on the search engines already.” A search engine is one more door to their business – and advertising directly via pay-per-click ads on the engines will only increase the ways in which potential customers can find them. - What is an ad on a search engine anyway?
Small business owners often don’t understand the basics of what a search engine ad is. Their perception of an “ad” is what they are used to seeing in the yellow page print and online directories, not the few lines of text that make up a search engine ad. - Keep it simple
Small business owners want their phone to ring or potential customers to walk through their door, period. Breaking SEM down to the basic ways it can effectively target the local customers they want and drive more leads to their business will make this much simpler for them to understand. - Make it visual
For years, local small business owners have been looking through yellow page directories, which they can pick up, flip through, find their ads and compare their ads to their competitors. This same thing can be done when presenting SEM - log on, or at least bring a print out of a search engine results page to show the advertiser what you’re talking about.
Topics: Local Advertisers |
October 5th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
[…] Insight from a truly local perspective […]
November 13th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
I had a similar conversation with my hairdresser this weekend. (She owns 2 salons). She’s about to open a new salon in Seattle, and is starting to think about how to accelerate business development for a new local marketplace. She’s had disappointing experience with online directories; doesn’t know the difference between SEM vs SEO; and above all, wants to know what it costs (fixed and variable), how much revenue to expect, how long before she gets qualified leads, who does the work, etc. (She doesn’t say “ROI,” but that’s what she wants to hear.) She hasn’t found time to update her website in 6 months, and lacks a marketing staff.
I’d guess she’s pretty typical of small business owners in the personal services arena…