The fact is many business owners don’t allocate a budget toward search marketing and should. While the other percentage that does allocate a budget, many don’t know what they’re doing…

So it came as no surprise to me that 56% of small businesses that plan to allocate marketing budgets toward search or social media advertising in 2011 admit they need help with some part of their campaigns. And despite a need for assistance, only 25% use SEM tools to manage their campaigns.

Source: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=147269

The small businesses that take on search marketing on their own should seriously consider outsourcing or hiring someone in to do the work for them. Search can be difficult but primarily it takes the business owner’s focus away from strategic thinking and industry direction toward tactic style thinking.

That’s not a bad thing and should be done from time to time but the vast array of information on search marketing and the pace at which it changes can be daunting and task that should be left to professionals.

Let the statistics speak for themselves.

Although 21% of small businesses report using search advertising, 73% said they handle search campaigns internally, with 47% admitting to doing it themselves. Some companies do not have dedicated resources, which can lead to major headaches when a campaign misfires. One in five, or 22%, said they have a staff member handling SEM in addition to other responsibilities.

Source: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=147269

Business owners who wants to improve their business overall and increase profits exponentially must look at all marketing methods and strategies available. One of the ways this is often done is by hiring a marketing strategist or business coach. This would be someone who has a fresh set of eyes that can bring value by overseeing and looking for potential profit leaks in the business. Not all companies do this and perform fine but are probably leaving tons of money on the table.

With that being said, all businesses – large and small – should consider search marketing as a tactic in their marketing arsenal. It’s effective, more people are using the internet to find the things they are looking for, and it allows your business to gain exposure.

Enjoy and prosper,

Jay

PS- If you need a fresh set of eyes to uncover the profit leaks in your business then consider getting a profit leak audit. It pays for itself.

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Is it a good idea for businesses to market using Facebook?

That’s a good question and one that many people have taken a stab at. After reading a recent post on CBC News it seems there are rules, or guiding principles, many so-called experts are placing on businesses for using Facebook.

First and foremost, Facebook is a growing social network that is still gaining steam. Just look at these stats…

Telecom firm AT&T conducted a survey recently, focusing on firms with two to 50 employees. The response from participants shows that 41 per cent of small businesses do have Facebook accounts. Now mind you, that’s up from 27 per cent when AT&T did the same survey last year, so that’s a significant jump.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/03/21/f-vp-buckner-small-business-facebook.html

It’s amazing how Facebook is growing. It’s also wonderful to see so many businesses giving it a test run. You see, in the same article the experts listed indicate that it depends on the type of organization on whether or not they should engage using the social media behemoth.

I have to disagree with that statement. I am a believer that you should test everything. It doesn’t matter how big or small your company is, there is data to be mined and experience to be gained from trying and using Facebook as a tool.

For instance, one of the issues that is brought up is how quickly negative news can travel on this social site. Yes, negative news can travel quickly and maybe it should if your product and customer service suck. The point is, bad news can travel fast on Facebook even if you’re company isn’t on it. But the kicker is, if you’re not there to try and stop the negative news from creating a wave of hate across the virtual landscape, then what are you to do?

At least if your business is represented you can take an active role in reputation management. You’ll have the ability to catch the negative news and squash it by giving superb customer service. It doesn’t take a Ph.D to realize how important it is to make people happy. And there is one thing to remember. You can’t make everyone happy. But you sure can do your best to get in front of the bad apples and show that you gave it your all.

Doing the little things could build tremendous good will in your brand and your community. Even the smallest of businesses can leverage this type of exposure and engagement with their customers and prospects.

Think about it. The same way negative news can spread, so can GREAT news. And that’s what you want.

A few of the tips given in this article that I think are great…

1. Be yourself! People want personality. That’s what will draw them back — interacting with someone who is fun and interesting. Always be professional.
2. Be consistent — it takes a lot of time to be successful with Social Media — respond to people who post and make sure you are doing a consistent number of posts using different things like pictures, videos, etc. Don’t bombard people. Too much and people will “unlike” your page.
3. Have a Plan — what is the purpose of your Facebook page? Is it to advertise specials, give information, promote yourself? Plan what you are going to put on your page and the amount of time you are going to spend — you can get carried away!

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/03/21/f-vp-buckner-small-business-facebook.html

There are two keys to using Facebook. One is listed above. You MUST have a plan before you set out to use the social media tool. Know what you want out of it and how you are going to use it before you even open an account.

The second most important concept is start small and test. Test everything you do and adjust your approach accordingly. If you’re using the event feature but it’s not working for some reason, then try something else. If you’re using Facebook ads and they’re giving you a positive ROI, then keep doing more of it and start to scale up.

Don’t let some expert tell you if you should be on Facebook or not. Test it and see if it make sense for your business.

Enjoy and prosper,

Jay

PS- If you think getting into Facebook advertising is something you should do then click the link at the top of the page called “Profit Leak Audit” fill out the information and see if you qualify.

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He recently announced his course Tactic 7.  I have to say, if you have a business and you plan on growing it you should try and get into his program.

I went to the seminar when he held it live and I walked away from the first day with so many Aha! moments it was crazy.  The first day was darn near the price of admission.

He goes over so many concepts that when you’re in the thick of things you tend to forget.

He really takes you through the fold.

Now, the things you have to consider when you watch Tactic 7 is Harlan Kilstein’s teaching style.  He likes to give you plenty of examples and show you exactly what he talks about.  And if you’re not an action taker… it’s probably not for you.  But if you are.. then it’s perfect.

For the people out there wondering if Harlan Kilstein is a scam… I can assure you he’s not.

He’s a stand up guy that cares about the people he teaches.

The one thing I’ve found is if you hate Harlan Kilstein it won’t last after you attend one of his seminars.

He’s full of knowledge and give you the tools to get where you need to go.

Ok, that’s all for now. 

If you want to find out more about Harlan Kilstein and Tactic 7 you can go to Tactic7.com

Till next time…

Jay Simcic

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Everyday more people are searching online for the the things they need and want.  It’s not just about finding that one item they can only find on the internet.   Those days are gone.

No, it’s people doing research, reading reviews, finding out everything they can about a business before they shop or work with them.  Internet marketing and SEO is here to stay and now its a matter of keeping up.

You see, SEO is now part of marketing a business properly.  It’s on par with Yellow Pages advertising, newspaper advertising, direct mail, and radio/tv advertising.  SEO is a powerful tool to use in your marketing arsenal and for local businesses the competition is still weak.  That means you can take advantage of SEO and what Stompernet has to offer.

Stompernet is one of the top SEO training companies out there today.  And they’re giving away a FREE 7-part Course on getting Top Search Engine Rankings.  If you’re interested at all in improving the traffic you get to your website and the number of leads you pickup, I suggest you visit Stompernet and get this free course.  It only costs your email address. 

Here’s the link

Stompernet – 7 Deadly SEO Mistakes

It’s packed with great information that you should consider implementing on your website.  It’s easy fun and you just might make some extra money from a free course.

It’s a no brainer.

So many people get information about SEO from dozens of sources.  I would say that Stompernet is the foremost authority on SEO in the market today.  They do all the testing for you.

You should check it out.

Here’s the link one last time.

Stompernet – 7 Deadly SEO Mistakes

One other area, that we’ll talk about another day, that you should consider looking into as a small business is PPC.  Using pay-per-click advertising in your marketing arsenal can produce a high return on investment when you get it done right.

Many local businesses aren’t looking to PPC as a viable advertising tool right now and they should.   For the same reasons SEO is important for local business, PPC is too.  Let’s face it, people are using the internet for nearly everything they do.  Don’t you think you should have a presence when they’re looking for what you offer.

Do me a favor. 

Leave me a comment here on the blog or sign up for my email list and tell me what business you’re in.  I’ll start doing posts about specific businesses and how you can improve your traffic both online and offline, improve conversions, generate more profits, and much more.  

Just look on the top right of the blog here and you’ll see where you can get on my list.  Just hit reply and tell me what’s on your mind.

Till next time…

Jay Simcic

P.S.  Take advantage of the Stompernet – 7 Deadly SEO Mistakes for FREE while you still can.  Just click the link and you’ll be taken to their page. 

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This goes for all businesses.

Think about the impact would be if you had a #1 position in Google for your local business.

Ok, so what’s going on.

For starters Google is starting to include local search matches in their regular search results.

That means if you search for “accountant”, Google will check out your IP address to determine your location, and provide you a list of local search results for “accountant”.  It will then give you a list of the 10 local accountants who are in Google Local Business Center.

That means, if you’re an accountant or own an accounting firm you should have your Google maps info up to date in the Google Local Business Center.

Here’s the link

Google Local Business Center

All you have to do is go there, create a Google account if you don’t have one already, and follow the directions.

What that will do is give searchers a map to your store, along with your phone number and website address.

Here’s an example…

Now, what you see here is what will show up when you search for “accountant”. This will be lower in the search engine than a few other searches but when you narrow it down to “your_city accountant” you can bet these listings will be closer to the top.

All this means is that local search marketing should be something every business takes a look at to see that it would benefit them.

It’s really easy to do and takes less than five minutes. Of course there are other steps you can take to improve your success in marketing and improving your profits but we’ll save those for another time.

Till next time,

Jay Simcic
Profit Convergence, Inc.

P.S.  There are many things you can do to improve your search engine rankings and improve your overall local search marketing.  If you’d like to discuss some options, give me a call at 336-775-6606 and we can chat about how we can improve your business.

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