Gone are the days when small mom and pop stores are the only ones that benefit from local search engine optimization (SEO). This 2017 and in the years to come most businesses can greatly benefit from local SEO. For example, a business owner like you located in or around the Atlanta GA area would benefit by getting more local customers with minimal effort and expense over the long run.

Local SEO is the process of configuring your online presence so your intended customers are more likely to find you rather than your larger competitors – in other words, search engine optimization specialized for local businesses to get more local customers. Part of this optimization is to properly target the geography of your local customers.

The good news is there is no need for you as the business owner to be tech savvy to get more local customers. With the help of a reliable and professional internet marketing consulting services firm such as Profit Now Solutions, LLC, you can take your business to the next level achieving the kind of success you have always dreamed of.

Here are the top reasons why local SEO is no longer an option fundamental to any local business’s marketing plan regardless of size or niche.

Google Loves Local Businesses

Through the years Google has been known to show favoritism toward smaller, newer, and more agile companies. Even though its rankings are still based on the authority and history of a particular brand, Google also aims to give people exactly what they need and want with online search results. This is where SERP (search engine results position) comes into play for you as the business owner. The goal is to get to the top of the list.

Search engine optimization provides a great opportunity for small business owners, who usually have very limited access to critical resources, to break new ground in their respective markets. Google and Bing alike continue develop several free tools for business owners in an effort to help improve their online presence and visibility.

Better and More Individualized Results are Made Possible

Individualized results are exactly what Google want to give to its users. Despite the current limits on its customized and predictive search features, Google manages to generate specific results based on the user. Provided that you are logged into your Google account, your geographic location and search history affect the types of result you see.

With the continuous development of Google and with users craving for more individualized results, the need for local SEO continues to grow bigger and better by the day.

Mobile Devices and Wearables are on the Rise

People are staying connected on the go. There is a definite increase in the percentage of online searches done using mobile devices as people are more on the go than ever before. According to Statista.com, 97.4 billion local search queries came from mobile devices in 2016 accounting 60% of local searches compared to desktop and is expected to grow reach 113.2 billiion in 2017. As wearables are introduced, users are also expected to use on the go searches more frequently, especially for immediate needs. Ask a professional business management consultant in Peachtree City and they will surely tell you that proximity-based searches increase daily and local searches are going to depend on hyper-specific locations instead of just a neighborhood or regional specific basis.

Undeniable Competition

Each year, millions of websites are launched and thousands of new businesses are established in every corner of the world. Yes, competition is increasing and as a business owner, you have to look for smaller target niches for you to create more relevant visibility. Among the most effective ways of doing this is local optimization. Sure, you can and should continue to spend money on paid advertising services. But the beauty of local SEO is the opportunity to capture more local customers organically. In other words, have more customers to find you outside of your paid advertising dollars.

Local SEO is the best kept secret your top competitors and larger companies have held onto for years. Part of it has to do with budgets, resources, and know how. However, over time the available tools and resources have become more affordable to smaller local businesses (yours) with the help of your local marketing consulting firm in Peachtree City GA.

Seeing is Believing – Try it for Yourself

coincidence that the bigger companies tend to dominate to the top of the list (first page results). They are able to accomplish this through effective SEO (Search Engine Optimization). And now so can you.

Where do you rank when people search for your types of products and services? Try searching for keywords or keyword phrases relevant to your business. For example, if you are a tire shop in Fairburn, open a web browser and type in something like “tire shops near me” or “car tires Fairburn”.

• How’d you do? Did you show up on the first page? How about the second page? Third page?
• Who are your customers seeing when they are looking for your type of business?
• Wouldn’t it be great if it were your business sitting closer to the top?

Try out our Free SEO Scorecard below to see where you rank – click here

Good news: You too can get your business ranking higher when people search for what you have to offer. Local SEO will steer them your way when they are either physically nearby or searching nearby your area. Wouldn’t that be nice!

Local SEO no longer an option but necessary to successfully getting more local customers.

Don’t just settle for your existing marketing and paid advertising. Give it a boost by going local to grow your business sooner rather than later!

Why wait? Profit now! Profit Now Solutions, LLC. Make more. Keep more.

Free SEO Report Card

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SEO: If you are a small to mid-size business owner then chances are that you (as an entrepreneur) wear many hats including “Marketing Department.” Let me start by saying how much I admire the sheer guts that it takes to start and run a successful business. You are the heart and soul of the American spirit.

With that being said, a lot has changed over the years on how to best market your business, especially with all of this SEO, SEM, PPC, SMO, SMM, ORM, SERP Rankings, Mobile, Email, ABC, 123…(okay, you get my point) going on. All of these play a role in your marketing mix but SEO and PPC are arguably the most prominent related to how customers find you on the internet (although some are just a fancy way of saying some of the same things).

The internet is a great resource to find customers and better yet, for them to find you. At the time of authoring this post, I asked Google how many businesses were listed on Google (haha) – there were 285 million results in just over a half second. So the question is, will your customers actually find you or will they find your competitors when seeking out your type of product or service.

Well that’s easy, you just have to pay for advertising, right? Google Adwords…pay-per-click. Well, maybe… If you’ve never tried it, you’ve heard of it. If you’ve tried it, you know it works yet you also know how very expensive in can get. Ever wonder how other businesses get to the top of the search list without the paid “Ad”? You guessed right – SEO.

According to Google Trends, search interest for SEO vs. PPC has traded placed over the past decade. Is your marketing strategy the up to date?

What is the big deal?

It’s about knowing what tools are available to you and how to benefit from each of them. I know you’re busy so I’m going to wrap this up pretty quickly. Search Engine Optimization versus Pay-Per-Click advertising could be equated to the difference between purchasing a home and renting a place to live. Both meet a need yet one ends in long-term benefits while the other is a cash-only pay-to-play arrangement.

According to Search Engine Land, SEO is the process of getting traffic from the “free,” “organic,” “editorial” or “natural” search results on search engines. A significant amount of work goes on behind the scenes to produce these long-run benefits which is why Search Engine Optimization would be equated to purchasing your online real estate.

Conversely, Wordstream.com defines PPC as a model of internet marketing in which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. While it still takes a good deal of work to run a successful paid ad campaign, the benefits are superficial. Once your ad budget runs out for the day, week, or month, guess what? No more “your business” showing up at the top of the list, or anywhere for that matter. That is why PPC is equated more so with renting your web presence. Not a bad thing, just different. Actually, there is a time and place for both of these tactics in the mix of any healthy marketing strategy.

Who needs it anyway?

If you’ve already got more customers than you can handle, then great – end of discussion. Otherwise, if you are like most businesses, then the more the merrier. In short, most businesses will benefit from an integrated marketing strategy that includes both SEO and PPC. SEO is a slower process that can yield lasting results with proper maintenance (kind of like paying a mortgage). PPC yields instant results, still requires maintenance, however the prices can change at will and yet provides little to no long-term payoff (kind of like renting). Therefore, it is wise to have a good mix of both PPC and SEO to be able to quickly seize opportunities in real-time as well as make more and save more in the long run.

Make smarter use of your marketing budget – start getting more quality conversions.

1. Find out where your site ranks: Check to see how  your business stacks up against your competition for search engine optimization – SEE BELOW to get a Free SEO Report Card in minutes
2. Work with a professional: Contact Us for a Free consultation at (678) 561-4429 or info@profitnowsolutions.net

Phone: (678) 561-4429

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2016) and other statistical sources, marketing and advertising is nearly a $90 billion a year industry and is projected to continue to grow at a strong pace. There’s a good reason for that – marketing works! However every business must be mindful of how it spends its precious dollars and especially so if you are a small to mid-size business or just starting out.

So what?

So what does $90 billion have to do with you? So glad you should ask. Marketing makes the difference between your potential customers buying from you or your competitors (Yours truly, Captain Obvious). All kidding aside, marketing is serious business for the life of your business. And yes, it can be costly and complicated but no, it doesn’t have to be. Before we dive into Inbound vs. Outbound marketing tactics, let’s first take a high-level refresher on what marketing actually is.

Marketing 101

So what is all of this chatter about inbound versus outbound marketing, you ask? Great question. Before we talk about that, let’s review some of the basics. What typically comes to mind in relationship to marketing is advertising; but that’s only part of the story. Marketing Mix also known as the 4 P’s of marketing consist of Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. In other words: what are you selling, how much does it cost, where can I find it, and how will you drive sales (this is where advertising goes). But before you invest in promoting or advertising you should already know what you are selling, who you are selling it to, why they want it, where they shop, and how much they are willing to pay for it. Make sense?

Unfortunately, a lot of time, money, and resources can get wasted when the cart gets put before the horse. This is where integrated marketing strategies centered around your customers are far more beneficial than any single tactic alone.

Let’s double-click on the Promotion P of marketing. Simply put, this is where you will communicate your value proposition to your potential customers. This could look like incentives, special bundles, ad campaigns, fliers, social media, landing pages, SMS, email, TV, Radio, websites, newsletters, direct sales and the list goes on. I’m oversimplifying it a bit but as you can see there are several moving parts. At the end of the day, it is all about communication: what, how, when, what, and why you will communicate to who.

Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing

Okay, so I think we’re ready to talk about Inbound vs. Outbound marketing tactics now. The question is: which one is better? Let’s first get a high-level understanding of what inbound versus outbound marketing is. Inbound has to do with what gets communicated to potential customers who are looking for you and are able to find you. Outbound has to do with what gets communicated to potential customers after whom you are pursuing.

Inbound Marketing

Elements of inbound marketing include search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM) also known as PPC or pay-per-click advertising to essentially help potential customers find your business when looking for the types of products and or services that you have to offer. Take for example, you own a small repair shop in Fayetteville, GA. There happen to be dozens of repair shops that will show up when a would-be customer initiates an internet search. Truth of the matter is that most customers do not make it past the 5 listings let alone past the first page. The question is: where your business rank on the list? Number 13? 47? Page 3? You can have the best widgets in the world but it does little good if your potential customers find your competitor’s rather than your business.

Other elements of inbound marketing have to do with your potential customer’s experience once they have found you. Is your website optimized for your type of business? Is your information up to date or stale with last year’s breaking news? Are buttons where people expect them to be? Can prospects easily find what they are looking for? Is there a clear and desirable call to action? And that’s just one channel of communication. What about when they call your place of business? Is the experience consistent with the perceived brand?

So in a nutshell, inbound marketing has to do with what and how you communicate with your potential customers who are actively seeking out your type of product or service.

Outbound Marketing

Outbound marketing is more aligned with what most people would equate with more traditional advertising tactics. This is where marketers proactively try to reach communicate with their potential customers whether to inform, persuade, or call to action. Fortunately and unfortunately the “traditional” channels of communication have evolved quite a bit over the recent decade. If we were to equate marketing to fishing, inbound marketing would be like setting nets in the water near where the fish naturally pass through. Outbound marketing would still be like casting a net into the water but now adding bait to entice them detour from their charted course.

Examples of outbound marketing include TV ads, Radio spots, email blasts, disruptive banner ads, telemarketing, and so on. Essentially, anything where potential customers are given information that they did not necessarily ask for in an effort to inform, persuade, or call to action. Outbound marketing tactics typically reach a broader audience – even millions at a time in some cases. But at what cost or ROI (return on investment)? Sure, it’s a numbers game – the more people you can get in front of the more opportunities you have to convert them into customers, right? Well, kind of…it really depends on what it is that you are trying to accomplish.

Conclusion

So we talked about the differences between inbound versus outbound marketing and how it all ties into the general marketing mix. Yet, the question remains. Which is better. The honest answer is, it depends. It depends on your goals, timeline, budget, and how you define better. Inbound marketing tactics generally have a lower cost of acquisition compared to inbound tactics along with higher conversion rates. Alternatively, the organic nature of inbound marketing generally operates at a lower overall volume compared to outbound tactics which can greatly accelerate growth when applied effectively. The bottom line, an integrated marketing strategy that includes the must-have benefits of inbound marketing tactics along with the accelerated growth opportunities afforded by the outbound tactics is the way to go.

Consult with an Expert Today!

There are plenty of tools and resources available for those do-it-yourself’ers out there. The experts at Profit Now Solutions, LLC are here to help you as much (or as little) as you’d like from self-service to hands-free concierge and marketing automation services. Our experts can develop with you a powerful integrated marketing strategy to connect with your customers in meaningful ways to help you meet your business objectives.

Call today for a FREE consultation! (866) 996-2246

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