Mobile sites are specifically designed for the small screen, with the needs of mobile users (your customers) in mind.

A mobile-friendly site helps your business connect with customers and drive conversions.

To make sure your site is mobile friendly, and to see your site through the eyes of your potential customers, take ten minutes to use the checklist on the next page and ask yourself the important questions about your mobile site while viewing your website on your Smartphone:

Content

Does the site fit the screen?

Almost 50 percent of your audience already uses mobile as the primary internet access device. In other words, you are losing nearly half your audience if you do not make your website mobile-friendly. Make sure content fits on the screen and can be read without pinching and zooming.

Is the content readable?

Do not try to cram all the information you provide on your website into your mobile site. Make it easy for your customers to read and bear in mind that they might be reading in a place with low light.

Does the site load quickly?

Include important information like phone numbers, addresses and maps which would be useful to people on the move. Instead of giving a detailed description about your organization, provide a one-liner which is good enough to entice your mobile audience.

Do videos and animations load?

Avoid using large, Flash-based video files on your mobile site, as most smartphone browsers do not support Flash. Instead, use simple images to improve the look and fee of your mobile website.

Is the site responsive?

With the rapid evolution of touch-based smartphones and tablets, touch has taken over typing. When designing your mobile site, use drop down menus, check boxes, and pre-populated fields whenever possible, so that your mobile visitors can navigate and input information easily rather than having to fill in long forms.

Images

Are file sizes as small as possible?

Use simple compressed images and keep them small for faster loading. This will improve the look and feel of your mobile website – but make sure all images used on the desktop are sent to resize automatically to fit a mobile device’s smaller screen sizes.

Is there a home page icon set?

Nobody likes to be confused. Help users navigate between levels with clear ‘back’ and ‘home’ buttons.

Do all images fir on the screen?

Use plenty of negative space and don’t let the images overcrowd the page.

Usability

Do the gestures work?

Use large-centered buttons to reduce accidental clicks and make sure that they all work. This will ensure that visiting your site will not be a frustrating experience for your customer.

Is it thumb friendly?

People use their fingers to operate mobile devices, especially their thumbs. Design your mobile site so even large hands can easily interact with it.

Are number and email addresses actionable?

Remember to use click-to-call functionality for all phone numbers.

Are forms easy to fill out?

Use check boxes, lists and scroll menus to make data entry easier.

Would you stay on the site?

Try to be objective and try to look at this through your customer’s eyes.

If you were shocked and disappointed by the results, time to take action is now. Most potential customers aren’t going to revisit a site that was not user friendly the first time. Don’t lose customers over what are often times, easy fixes on your small business website.

Have you ever wondered why some local businesses seem to thrive and be incredibly successful at marketing themselves on the Internet while others can’t even manage to get one customer to their website?

If so, you are not alone. We realize that a lot of businesses find internet marketing very frustrating. There are literally thousands of different ways to market your business on the Internet, so we have put together some basic internet marketing tips we think will be useful to most local small business owners.

Google+ Local

Even if you only started your online business very recently, the chances are it will already be listed on Google+ Local. However, your mission is to make sure the information on your Google Local page is accurate.

To do that, all you need to do is claim your page and make sure that you fill in all of the information correctly (contact us if you need some help as it needs to be done properly or your ranking will suffer).

Local businesses benefit enormously from having their Google Places listing found at or near the top of the page 1 results on Google. Just this one tip alone could make a huge difference to your business.

Remember both Bing and Yahoo have their own local search platforms too

Okay, so Bing Local and Yahoo Local might not be as big and effective as Google’s local search platform but you should not ignore them as they can still drive a lot of traffic to your website. Like Google, they are free and relatively easy to do but it is vital to make sure that you give the search engines the exact kind of information they require in order to benefit fully from them.

Check your <Title> tag

Visit your website and look at the very top of your browser window. What do you see?

• Does it describe the page that you are looking at?
• Is it a personalized description relating to your website or is it a generic default description that could apply to any business online?
• Does it contain keywords and phrases you would expect people to use when searching for a business like yours in the search engines?
• If you are a local business depending on local customers in your area to find you, does it contain local search keywords?

If not then this will be another reason why you are not getting many visitors to your website.

Determine what you want your website to do

A lot of local business owners give total control of their website to their web designers. While they may be good at actually designing websites they usually don’t have a clue about marketing and making the website work efficiently for their clients. So instead of letting your designer have free rein, spend a few minutes thinking about what the goal of your website is? Yes, you want it to boost your profits by driving extra sales but how exactly will it do that? Start with just one goal, such as increasing the number of phone calls, and branch out from there. Although it is important to set goals, you also need to come up with a system for measuring the results of those goals.

Spread the word in Local directories

There are numerous directory sites on the internet, each with hundreds of thousands of visitors.  Some, like Insiderpages.com, even get millions of visitors per month. It makes sense to get your business listed in these online directories, especially if there is a directory relating specifically to your industry niche.

Not only will you benefit from the extra visitors from the directories but as an added bonus, being listed will actually strengthen your rankings in Google+ Local.

Check out your competition

When was the last time you visited any of you competitors’ websites? Do you know who your competitors are? Find out what sites appear when you type in keyword and phrases that you think potential customers would use when looking for your site.

Visiting your competitors’ websites is a great way to get ideas and take stock of your own company’s online marketing efforts in comparison to theirs. Take a look at the kind of information they have on their site and see how their site compares to yours? Try to analyse why their site might be ranking higher than yours.

Join your local chamber of commerce and networking groups

Although this comes with a price tag, the benefits of joining the local Chamber of Commerce or a local networking group like BNI.com are enormous. You have the potential to get much more business, save your business money with member-only deals and provide a boost in the local search rankings. Here is a list of just some of the benefits:

• Increased exposure to many other people and local businesses eager to do business with you.
• Substantially increased referrals.
• Participation in numerous networking groups each week
• Get invited to take part in tradeshows (where you’ll have an opportunity to market your business).
• Free workshops.
• And much more.

The knock on effect for your business is definitely worth the investment and your local business is likely to grow as a result.

Post online videos

Youtube is one of the biggest search engines on the Internet and Google owns it.  Google also rewards businesses who post videos on YouTube with higher search rankings, so it would be foolhardy to ignore it. Using YouTube and other online video sites is free and well worth the effort to create a video and post it online.

Don’t panic. You don’t need to produce a Hollywood Blockbuster movie. If you have a video camera or even a decent smartphone with a video camera on it, you can video yourself or members of your staff showcasing some of the services you provide or displaying some of the products you have on offer. Record a demo of how to use one of your products or you could interview some of your best customers. You could even give people a video tour around your premises.  If you don’t have a video camera, you could create a simple slide show presentation in Powerpoint with some pictures and add a brief voice over.

Then, create a YouTube channel and upload it. There are many videos on YouTube itself showing how to personalize and brand it.  In the video’s description add a full link to your website and make sure that it is clickable. Don’t forget to add “tags” using words that people are likely to search for (keywords relating to your business or the area that you live including your city or town).

Don’t just stick to YouTube. There are other sites such as Vimeo.com and Dailymotion.com to post on, and you can add your video to your own website by using the embed option from YouTube and your Facebook page.

Make Friends with local journalists

This is probably one strategy that your competitors are not doing and it works like a charm. But you are probably wondering how you would even start to make friends with a journalist. Watch your local news items on TV, read your local newspapers and compile a list of the local reporters. Most TV stations now include the journalist Twitter ID or email address alongside the correspondent’s name while they are presenting their news item.

Start off by commenting on a story that your journalist friend wrote in the newspaper or presented on the TV.  Don’t flatter them but make your comment insightful. Add value to what they have reported and make them think. You want them to remember you. Send them a story idea that has nothing to do with your business, something you think might be of interest to them. Write a blog post, Tweet or add a comment on Facebook about something that they have covered and explain why you found it interesting.

In time, you could start sending them stories you think would be newsworthy, or show them you are an expert in your particular field so if a story ever crops up relating to your business you will be the first person that they think of.

Get involved on Social Media

Why should you use Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter?  Well, many budget-conscious companies have already started using these free marketing source as a way to promote, connect and brand their company, and connecting with your customers is the main reason to use social media for your business.

You will be able to communicate with your customers easily because Facebook, Twitter, etc have become a daily habit.  Many log on to update as soon as they wake up, even before brushing their teeth.

To succeed with in social media marketing, don’t try and sell anything to your followers. It’s a place consumers can go to easily access your phone number, address, and other key information, even on their mobile phones.  Instead, start to engage with people interested in your business: Thank customers for their business; respond to customer complaints; market your business to people most likely to support your company. Try offering/sending out exclusive discounts and deals on your social media fans and followers.

Once you have your Facebook page and Twitter accounts up-and-running, try giving LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube a go. The more you use the world of social media, the higher your return will be – perhaps not in direct revenue, but with increased brand loyalty, greater word-of-mouth, and stronger emotional attachment to your brand.

Why? Because image is everything!  So every business (or individual) needs to monitor and manage their reputation. All you need is just one dissatisfied customer, determined to tell the world what they think of you and your business and who posts their comments on all of the review sites and your reputation could be ruined. In some cases, they might not even be genuine customers.  It may be your competitors instead, using underhanded tactics to give you and your business a bad name.

For these reasons, all businesses, no matter how big or small, need to protect their image on the internet by monitoring, managing and improving their online reputation. If not, potential customers searching for your company will see these negatives and choose to buy their products or services elsewhere – from your competitors.

These tips should help you take control of your brand identity:

1.   Find out exactly what people are saying about you:

Some businesses try to pretend the internet doesn’t exist. They bury their heads and don’t even try to find out what people are writing about them. Don’t make the same mistake. The only way you can manage your online reputation is to find out what is being said about your business. It might not all be flattering, but it’s important to know what’s being said about you online. Unless you know what’s out there, you can’t respond to what others have to say. But there is an upside – if you find people giving you positive reviews, you can publicize it.

So bite the bullet and ‘Google’ your name and the name of your business. Look at the results that appear. In most cases you will find a lot of excellent reviews and some negative ones. Don’t worry if you do have some negative comments as this happens to virtually every single business and retailer online so you are not alone. It is not necessarily the negative reviews that could put potential customers off from doing business with you but how you handle these negative comments. If you handle them right you can still come out smelling of roses and look very professional. However, if you handle them badly, you could lose new customers in their droves.

2.   Respond to the negative reviews in a professional manner:

No matter whether you think the negative comments are justified or not, you must be utterly professional in your reply. Always remember: You are may be writing to the person leaving the negative review, but your comments will be read by thousands of other potential customers who will be very interested to see how you handle the complaint.

If you launch an attack on the person who left the negative comment by branding them a liar, rant at them for taking their complaint public rather than coming to you with it first, all you are going to do is add fuel to the fire and potential customers are going to avoid you like the plague. It will also add credibility to the person who left the complaint, even if it wasn’t true.

The best way to handle situations like this is:

• Be very professional
• Show care and concern for the fact that they did not have a positive experience.
• Apologize for the service they received.
• Accept the mistake and put down in writing the steps that you have taken to fix the problem to ensure that it never happens again.
• Invite them back to do business with you again so that they can see for themselves that you listened to them and do care that they were disappointed with your service.

Can you see how taking this course of action  not only wins over the person who left the review but it also reassures all of your other potential customers that you are good to do business with.

3.   Never ignore negative reviews:

Ignoring the comments altogether is not a good course to take, and can be just as harmful to your reputation as responding to negative reviews with abusive messages.

Disregarding even one negative review will seriously harm your business. Most people, when reading a negative review, will not take the time to carefully consider whether you or the customer is in the right, and by not addressing the adverse comments, you seem to be confirming them to be true.  More often than not, that one negative review will create enough doubt or uncertainty to send your potential customers into the arms of your competitors instead.

It is so important to have a set game plan of how to deal with online complaints. It is much smarter and more effective option is to learn how to effectively reply to negative reviews

(see tip above).

4. Invite the Customer to Amend Their Review

If you are able to resolve your customer’s issue and have shown them you want them back as a customer, the next step is to encourage them to return back to the site to remove their negative review, or at least amend it with a follow-up message describing how, with your help, the problem was resolved.

This may require some incentives on your part, but clearing up a negative review is definitely worth any immediate costs. If the customer refuses or is unable to change or remove their review, then follow up with your own summary of the events in a factual way, taking care not to anger or infuriate the customer into responding further and so drag you into an online war of words.

For example you could politely explain that as a business owner these things are unfortunate but they do happen and that the customer received a full refund or whatever action you took to address the issue.

This public display of customer service will go a long way in overcoming any damage done by the initial review and will win you more customers in the long run.

5. Encourage Positive Reviews from Satisfied Customers

An excellent way to manage your online reputation is to encourage your many satisfied customers to leave a positive review at the site hosting the bad one.  Again you many need to offer some incentives. This does not mean paying people to leave positive reviews but there are some subtle ways to encourage your customers to leave honest reviews to crowd out the bad ones.

It’s worth remembering you don’t have to wait for a bad review to start motivating happy customers to leave positive comments.  In fact, being proactive about this can prevent one negative review from having a drastic effect on your business. So make a habit of encouraging all of your happy customers to leave positive comment. You will be surprised just how many will simply because you ask them to.

It can be more difficult to get customers to post positive reviews rather than negative ones, even if you offer the most exceptional service in the world.  So take the initiative and try to steer them towards sites that will offer you the most benefits. Depending on the type of business you are or the service that you provide, look at identifying who your customers tend to be, (e.g. tourists, locals, foodies, professionals, homemakers, etc.).  Then choose a review site that best fits your niche and invite customers to leave feedback there.

The whole purpose is to try and control as much of the online conversation about your business as possible. By directing customers to a business-friendly review site (one that allows owners to reply to complaints or even offers some kind of reputation-management program) you’ll be able to limit the impact any bad review will have.

6. Never leave fake positive reviews for your own business.

As tempting or as easy as this may seem to write your own fake reviews there are many ways you can get caught doing this. Once your reviews have been exposed it will be much more damaging to your business’s reputation than a few negative reviews.

Try to realize that negative reviews are not the end of the world. In fact if you deal with the situation correctly, you can turn the situation around and come away with a positive boost to your business.

Customers don’t expect a business to be perfect. However, what they do expect is for a company to take responsibility for its occasional shortcomings and show that it cares about its customers and is willing to do whatever it takes to make them happy. If they see that you are a responsible business owner who genuinely tries to take good care of your customers you will win lots of new clients.

7. it’s Time to Get Social

By creating social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest etc. you can manage your online reputation even easier. By being active on the social networking platforms there is less room for other, potentially negative, pages to gain visibility. If a negative news story should emerge, you can react to it quickly; get your point of view across so that people searching for the story will see your side before things get out of control.

You can use the same idea by creating accounts on YouTube, HubPages, Blogger, WordPress, Squidoo and other sites. It is important not to spread yourself too thinly, but the more Social Media accounts you can comfortably handle, the more opportunities you will have to increase your visibility, and the more control you can exercise over your reputation management. This increased online presence will enable you to engage and interact with your followers and fans which will eventually build trust and loyalty with clients new and old.

8. Join Industry Specific forums

There are literally thousands of discussion forums on the internet so there is bound to be one specific to your industry. If there is, then you should seriously consider joining. It is a terrific way to reach out to a brand new audience who previously might not have heard of you or your business. You can also build a solid online reputation by offering great tips and advice and generally becoming a respected authority within your niche or industry.

9. Use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Management

An essential way to build a good reputation online and have a strong presence on the Internet is make sure that your website and social media sites are optimized for the search engines. What does this means for your business?  It makes your website more search engine friendly, so your site will be ranked higher in the search engines results AND your customers can find you much more quickly.

SEO tactics can also be used to rank other pages that are not on your website too. For example, if you have written an informative guest post on a well-respected industry blog or discussion forum, getting this to rank can be even more effective than getting your own social media profiles to rank and will give your instant credibility when potential customers search for your name or company.

You could take this one step further, using SEO to rank any positive press that you have received. If one of your products has received a glowing review in the national press, for example, use SEO to help this page to rank highly. This can present a very positive image of your brand even if you have negative reviews elsewhere and will win you over many more new clients.

10. Dominate the first pages by paying to rank higher

PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click.  It is a very popular and effective way of advertizing online.

If someone makes damaging statements about you or your firm online, you can use PPC (Pay per click) advertizing to kill two birds with one stone.  PPC can accomplish two things at the same time: Not only will it promote your services and get you high visibility in the search engines, but it also has the added advantage of being able to counteract the effects of the negative messaging. PPC is excellent as it allows you to create hyper-targeted ad campaigns. You can target your ad’s messaging to a particular online reputation issue.

With a PPC campaign, a business simply agrees to pay a certain amount of money everytime a prospect clicks on an ad related to a particular keyword or keyword phrase. For example if you were a florist you would use the name of your town and the word florist as one of your keyword phrases in a PPC campaign. That means when somebody local searches for florists in their local town your firm’s advertizement will pop up as a featured or sponsored advertizement. This allows the person searching for the florist to click on your link and make the order.

PPC can be a very powerful tool to counteract any negative statement. It combines public relations and advertizing, and is effective in getting a lot more sales.

11. Communicate through photos and videos

When you think of companies like Virgin and Apple which people come to mind? You immediately think of Richard Branson and the late Steve Jobs. Their images and personality are instantly linked to their companies and you could do the same with your company. People like to know who they are doing business with so why not add photographs and videos of you, your business and your employees. Give your company a face your clients can relate to and get to know. It has far more impact on the relationship that you have with your customers than an anonymous website.  If you tag your pictures with keywords and your company name they will even have an effect on your search engine ranking and improve your branding.

12. Think Before You Post:

Unless you want to stir up controversy and make situations worse, it’s important to watch what you say and be careful what you post. Anything you say can and will be used against you when it comes to social media. It is very frustrating when you read a comment about your business that is either unfair or even a downright lie, but before you post anything you need to think about the impact your words are going to have. What will your comments look like to everybody else reading what you have written? Will it damage your reputation even further in the long run? If you need to, write down what you want to say, leave it for an hour or even overnight and then re-read it. You might find that once you have calmed down you have changed your mind and decide to reword what you want to say. Never, ever publish anything that is going to cast you or your business in a negative light. Your aim is to protect your reputation and that means doing all you can to improve your company’s image online.

Above all….Stay on top of things.

It’s very important not to get lazy about monitoring your reputation. We recommend regularly checking for information that could potentially harm your online reputation. Take advantage of automatic monitoring tools such as Google Alerts. This way you’ll stay informed about what is being said so you can be proactive and limit the damage done.

Some local businesses realize the importance of doing this but are too busy running their companies.  They find they don’t have the time to monitor their online reputation enough.  Or they find it hard to remain professional and not get too emotional when leaving replies to negative comments because they are so passionate about their business.

Protecting a brand image is the most important thing a company can do. You probably have worked hard for years, if not decades, building your brand so you don’t want to let negative remarks or reviews about your company hurt your bottom line.

However, giving your business an online presence is more than simply putting up a little website with your company’s address and phone number.

It means setting up a virtual version of your business, with an engaging, informative website, a Facebook page and Twitter account. In this electronic age, people search online for the products and services they need. They don’t use the phone book any more so if you ignore this important potential marketing platform it is just like you saying, “I don’t need any new business.”

But a website is not enough on its own. You need to make sure the people searching for your product or service can actually find it.

This is where SEO (Search Engine Optimization) comes into play. By making some tweaks on your website and applying some techniques the search engines love, you can help your site be found in seconds by potential customers who are using search engines like Google and Bing to look for a business like yours.

For example, if you are a florist in Florida, employing good SEO practices will ensure your business is shown near the top of the results when potential clients look for a florist in Florida in their favorite search engine.

Combining SEO with good online marketing strategies can go a long way in helping any small business to stand out from the online crowd, and help to send traffic and customers to their website.

You’ve built your website and you’re ready to start taking orders, but where are all the customers you thought would be knocking on your virtual door?  Perhaps they have gotten lost?  Or is it that they would be on their way to you….if only they knew you existed!

If you are not clued up on Search Engine Optimization, then unfortunately it’s going to be the latter. They simply can’t find you.

Search Engine Optimization, (SEO for short), is the process of improving the ranking of your website on the major search engines.  The higher a website’s ranking, the nearer it will be to the top of the search result listings.

Each search engine (Google, Bing, Yahoo! etc) has its own ranking algorithms. These are complex rules that determine how to rank your website for a search query. The search engines never make these algorithms public and are regularly change how they work, so SEO can take a little guesswork.

When someone types an enquiry in the search box of any search engine, it is the job of that search engine to provide the most relevant websites for whatever query the searcher  has asked.

Let’s say, for example, you search for a big brand such as “Amazon”. As you would expect, www.amazon.com will pop up at the top of the list. This website takes the number one slot in the search results because they have their SEO in place, as well as the fact that search engines often rank big brands higher automatically.  Plus, Amazon have probably paid more to be there.

But what happens when you use the search term “books”? This is a much more generic term and can throw up thousands, if not millions, of results. How do Google and the other search engines determine who should be top of the pile?

Well, apart from the sponsored links from advertizers who have paid to have their ads displayed, (these are normally featured at the very top of the page), Google finds the most relevant website based on the SEO work that has been carried out.

Not only does it mean that the keyword “books” has been used well within the site, but that the website is known, trusted and has lots of links from other websites pointing back to it. SEO can be quite a complex business, but when carried out well it can give you great results.

Using Keywords in SEO Website Content

One of the most important considerations in SEO is your website content. It needs to be well written and needs to target relevant keywords in a natural way.

But a word of caution: If you litter your website with too many keywords Google will penalize you by moving you down in the rankings. Never try to cheat the search engines. They are very clever and can tell the difference between keyword stuffing and well-written content.

For example, let’s say you have a website that is all about cheese.  Naturally, when people search for the word ‘cheese’, you want your site to come out top in the search engine results. You might be tempted to write an article which mentions the word cheese many times, in order to get your site ranked highly by the search engines and so appear at the top of the search results.  It could even read something like this:

“If you are looking for information on cheese recipes, read this article which is written on the topic cheese recipes. This cheese recipe article is an excellent cheese recipe article. This cheese recipe article will help you make good cheese dishes. This cheese recipe is an easy way to make dishes using cheese. In this cheese recipe article, you can find lot of information on making cheese dishes. This cheese recipe article talks about which are the best cheeses to use, where to buy good quality cheese, how to make good cheese dishes etc. Read this cheese recipe article to learn more about making cheese dishes.”

It doesn’t make good reading and it certainly doesn’t show a natural use of the word cheese, and overusing the keyword ‘cheese’ in this manner will guarantee that Google and the other search engines will penalize your site by dropping it down the rankings.

So how do you go about optimizing your site for the best search results?  First of all, you need to determine what key words or phrases your potential customers are most likely to type in when searching for your particular product or service.

In the previous article we used the example of a florist in Florida.

The keyword would not be ‘florist’.  It is just too generic. There are thousands of florists out there, far too many for your customers to be able to find you.  Most likely, they will be searching using the phrase “florist in Florida” or something similar in the search engines.  So give some thought to what terms your customers might use to find YOU, (normally your product or server + your town or city).

Come up with the two or three most obvious keywords for your business, then use these within your website content. The basic rule would be to have your main keyword near the top of your web page or in the first paragraph of content and then use it a couple of times more throughout.  Add your secondary keywords in the body of your web page content.  Search engines will then be able to read these keywords on your website and send you potential customers who are looking for these phrases.  Just remember NOT to overdo it. Use them in natural manner and they will work effortlessly for you.

Keep Your Customer in Mind When Designing Your Site

It is so important to provide valuable and informative content for your visitors, as today, more than ever, Google rewards websites which provide good, helpful content related to whatever line of business you are in. But Google wants to be sure your site is respected and an authority on the subject you deal with before it sends anybody your way.

So if we use our florist example again, you could provide an article or two about flower arranging or how to choose the best flowers for Mothers Day. You could go a step further and create a video showing how best to display flowers, both in a vase and as a flower arrangement , or show how to prolong the life of floral displays to get the most from them. The idea is to create information that is going to interest your target audience.

How to Get Fast Effective Results

The quickest and best way to get more exposure for your business and turn that trickle of web visitors into a flood of sales is to hire a specialist SEO company.  SEO is a steep learning curve which really can take a lot of time and effort, time that will take you away from the running of your business.

An SEO consultant, on the other hand, can carry out all the hard work, monitor your site and ensure you are getting the best exposure. You need a company who you can trust. A company who knows exactly what they are doing and who will get the best results for your business.

I don’t know about where you live but the little guys, the independents, have all but disappeared in my local town. The majority of the smaller family run stores that offered the personal touch have nearly all been swallowed up by chain stores and supermarkets that sell absolutely anything and everything.

It is depressing when you see how many out of town supermarkets and retail parks there are now. Every city and major town is virtually a carbon copy of each other, with the same chain of coffee shops, the same clothing retailers, the same chains of DIY and garden care companies and the same electrical outlets.

The small businesses seem to fighting a losing battle and the lifeblood is being sucked out of them.

The exciting news is the Internet gives you, the small business, a new level playing field where you really can become a giant on the Internet very easily and get your share of the big profits.

Increasingly people are looking online for information. These are local people – People in your area. Your potential customers.

Don’t just take our word for it. Look at the statistics in any publication and you will see the trend increasing year on year that the majority of people research products and services online using their mobiles and tablets but here is the twist – they still buy OFFLINE!

That means that your business should be taking full advantage of the Internet and getting a slice of the action. If you don’t, then your competitors will.

Read on to find out how you can do it and become an online giant…..

Getting Started Online

One of the reasons so many local businesses put off promoting their business on the Internet is because it can be so overwhelming. There are so many ways that you can market your business online that you might not know where to start.

Quite a number of local businesses dabble in online marketing and then give up after a few weeks because they don’t get the results that they expect.

Although the internet is not a magic wand that instantly makes you rich overnight, you WILL see great results very quickly IF you know what you are doing.

It‘s true, not all marketing techniques are suitable for all business types but here are some things that literally any business, no matter what sector you are in, can start to implement to help give you a giant sized presence on the internet (and breathe a sigh of relief as they won’t break the bank either).

Your Website

Your website does not need to be an expensive all singing, all dancing work of art BUT it should be search engine friendly and updated regularly.

For many small businesses, designing a functional but profitable website can be extremely daunting, so they tend to leave the whole design in the hands of their website designer.

This can turn out to be a very expensive mistake for your business. Web designers can make some stunning looking websites complete with every bell and whistle imaginable.

However if you owned a car dealership, it is doubtful that you would trust your car mechanic to have complete control of your marketing campaigns. While he might be a very good car mechanic, it is pretty unlikely he would also be an expert in marketing.  Leave it all up him and pretty soon you would be out of business.

That is in effect what you would be doing if you allowed your web designer to have complete control of your website.

Yes, they might have good design skills but in most cases they know very little about marketing. There are very few web designers who totally understand how to optimize sites for the search engines, or how to write compelling sales copy or information that effectively pre-sells your products and services.

You really don’t want a website designer who just concentrates on how pretty they can make your site and how they can add a wide range of lovely looking but utterly pointless gimmicks on your site.

So rather than give your web designer free reign, here are some tips that will put you in total control and end up with a website that makes you a healthy profit.

1.  Be very clear about what you want. You want a website that works 24/7 and earns its keep, so you need to be clear on exactly what you want each web page to do and who is its target audience. So when thinking about the function of each page of your website, decide in advance what its purpose is.

For example, will it be used purely as an online brochure for your customers to show off your product or service or will you want to sell products on there too?

Will you want your page to collect visitor’s names and addresses or do you just want your site to let people know how they can contact you?

Will you have a blog where you can keep customers updated or will you be sending a newsletter out?

2.  Have your offer and call to action clearly visible on your website.  Don’t hide this information away. If you want them to buy from you, make sure the Buy button can be clearly seen. If you want your visitor to call you, then tell them how they can contact you, with your telephone number or email address clearly visible on the page.

3.   When you write your web copy information for your site, write it with the reader in mind.   Always remember to clarify what YOU can do for THEM. It will make it very boring if the site is all about you and how great you think you are. Nothing turns a visitor away fast enough than the words “we do this…” or “we are…” Remember it is not about YOU, it is about the customer, so show them that you are the business that provides exactly what they need.

In summary, think twice about letting your website designer completely take over. Even if you don’t have a technical bone in your body, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have full control over your online business.

It is very disheartening to see small companies trying to make their mark online, only to throw their hands in the air and give up because the whole prospect of getting started and choosing the right company is too confusing.

But having an online presence is so important for your business, so here are some tips that will help you to find YOUR ethical, hardworking and successful Internet Marketing partner.

Be Wary Of Companies Promising Quick Results

SEO is a slow but very worthwhile process. (Search Engine Optimization….it helps you get found in the search engines) Although we have seen certain websites go from page 20 to page one in just a few weeks this is very much the exception and not the rule.

Any company that promises you very quick results is either being dishonest or will participate in potentially damaging practices that will very likely get your website lowered or completely removed from key search engine rankings altogether. No company can ever tell you exactly when your site will feature prominently in the search engines as it depends on your business and the relative competition within it. However, the right company will do all the groundwork and hard work required to give you a solid and prominent ranking.  The results you will receive because of all of the extra traffic and customers will make it all worthwhile.

Focus On Small and Mid-Size Companies

Larger SEO companies may look incredibly impressive, but working with a smaller SEO firm means that you are more likely to work directly with the experienced SEO strategist who is customizing your SEO campaign around your specific needs and goals. It is reassuring to have the personal touch from a smaller independent company who really cares about your business and with whom you can build a rock solid business relationship.

Link Building Quality Is Better Than Link Building Quantity

Links pointing back to your website are very important and search engines like Google decide how important your website is by determining the number of quality back links you have. There are numerous companies out there that will offer to get you a HUGE number of links for a very, very low price. This means that they are essentially going to put links to your site on websites that are of low or no value to search engines. These sorts of links could end up hurting your website rather than help you.

The emphasis for link building should always be the quality of the back links. A good rule of thumb is if you do not find the website interesting or relevant to your business, neither will the search engines.  It will not be worth your money using companies who use dubious linking methods and will only damage your business.

Beware Of the Sales Rep

A sales representative that works for a large SEO company doesn’t actually do the SEO themselves. They are paid a commission and will say or promise just about anything to get your business. That is their job – to get new clients. You always want to be able to speak to the person responsible for working on your website search engine results so that you can tell them exactly what you want to achieve and how they can personally help you.

Go With Your Instinct

If you get the gut feeling that the first local SEO company that you meet with seems the perfect fit and totally ‘gets’ you, your business and what you want to achieve then go with your instincts. Don’t feel that you have to drag three or four more companies through the pitch just because you feel that you are ‘supposed’ to shop around. By doing that, you will only delay the process of getting your website found online and lose even more potential sales. In a lot of cases, business owners get so daunted by the whole thing, they end up not choosing anybody and then they are back to square one again.

Be Willing To Make Changes

Let your local SEO firm do their job. If you aren’t willing to take their SEO and marketing recommendations and adopt them, why bother hiring them in the first place? Remember that they are working for you, not against you. Their aim is make your website and online web presence as visible as possible and drive a flood of new customers to your site.

Respect the SEO Company and Its Employees

The key to a successful and profitable relationship with between you and the SEO Company is mutual trust and respect. If both parties have that then you will reap huge rewards as they will do a terrific job for you.

Don’t Expect Upfront Work Before You Are A Client

You don’t work for free and neither do local SEO companies. By all means ask as many questions as you want about their process and what kind of results they propose to bring to your business.  You need to know that you have chosen the right firm to help your business but you can’t expect a full SEO campaign to be created before your hire them.

Beware of ‘Yes’ Men Who Take Your Money But Who Do Nothing

There are plenty of ‘yes’ men companies out there who will say whatever it takes to get your money and then run off with it and not do any work. Your SEO Company should stay in constant communication with you, report the progress they have made and what kind of results you should soon be expecting. Don’t trust companies who trick you into a monthly fee then fob you off whenever you try to ask them what they have done during that month.

Those guidelines will help you to make a more informed choice and help you to choose a company you have confidence in  to understand your business and do an effective job of promoting your website.

The irony is, not marketing your business will have a detrimental effect on your business.

One local business owner called Tom, who owns a fireplace store, has just put a closing down sign in his store window because nobody is visiting his store and he says he can’t afford to advertise any more.

This year alone he has spent over $6000 on advertising in his local newspaper with expensive one time ads and it was a total waste of time and money.

Although it is sadly too late for Tom, the good news for other companies who are still in business is that online marketing is not only much cheaper but it is far more effective than traditional methods of marketing.  Plus, you can easily track the success of each marketing campaign that you launch.

Here are some big marketing ideas for businesses on a small marketing budget:

1.  Optimise Your Website for the Search Engines:

This is one of the first things you need to put on your ‘to-do’ list.

Why? Because Google is not only the most popular search engine on the Internet but it is also your business’ best friend.

Google and the search engines want you to rank high in the search results. If their clients are searching for a product or service that provide, it is Google’s job is to tell them about your business.

However, you have to make it easy for them by optimising your site. This does not have to be expensive at all and yet will one be of the best investments that you could ever make. The return will be phenomenal as customers far and wide discover your company online.

2. Google Plus Local

While we are on the subject of Google, we can’t miss out Google+ Local. As mentioned in the previous marketing tip, Google really is on your side and it wants to help your business to be found. They make sure that if potential customers are looking for a product or service that you provide, Google wants to make sure that its results are totally relevant and your company appears in the listings.

As a result, search results are becoming much more local and personalised meaning that companies who claim their Google Plus Local Page and optimise it properly get the best rewards.

3.  Start a Blog

No matter what type of business you are in, you can still have a blog. If you don’t know what a blog is, it basically stands for ’web log’ and they’re effectively online diaries for your business.

If you are going to create a blog for your company you need to do the following:

Host the blog on your own domain. E.g. YourBusinessWeb-site.com/blog

Anyone can set one up, that’s the easy part. Thinking of something interesting to say each time you blog is the tricky bit. You need to be able to write good content that will be interesting for your visitors and customers. People won’t thank you if it’s just going to be one long sales pitch.

Create a community and make your visitors feel part of it by responding to each blog comment. If you do, the more people will be inclined to read and comment on your blog more often.

4. Social Networking

Local businesses that use social media sites, almost always see a significant increase in monthly traffic. The part that excites them the most is the fact that it is completely free. All it costs is a little of their time but the results are well worth it.Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus are all popular sites that you can’t ignore. By creating a profile on each of these sites, you will not only create new opportunities for potential clients to find you but they will also be excellent sources of traffic.

By investing a bit of time and effort providing good content that is relevant to your audience and interacting with your followers you will soon build a loyal following. This will raise your online company profile and make your site easier to find in the search engines.

5.  Case Studies and Testimonials

If you already have happy customers who love your product or service why not get a testimonial or case study from them?

Case studies and testimonials are a perfect way to get brand new customers because they build credibility and give the potential customers the confidence to try your product or service knowing that other people like it. They will be less inclined to buy if they don’t see any testimonials or reviews.

The secret is to get your customer to talk about your product or service, how they used it, and they results that they got.

Most customers will be happy to do this if you ask them.

You could also provide feedback forms on your website. Online customers are used to and conditioned to leaving reviews. They are a great way to get more people interested in what you have to offer.

6.  Write A Free ‘Beginners Guide’ for Customers to Download

No matter what kind of business you are in, you can get a lot more business by writing a free Beginners Guide. It is an excellent marketing technique.

They are an excellent way to get a lot of traffic to your site and increase the interest in your product or service.

Examples:

- Beginners Guide to Choosing a Fishing Rod

- Beginners Guide to Setting Up an iPhone 5

- How to Choose a New Bathroom Suite

- Choosing the Right Spectacles for You

- Beginners Guide to Tiling

These kinds of free reports rank highly in the search engines and do a superb job of up-selling your products and services, as well as making you an ‘authority’ in your field.

Customers will see that you know exactly what you are talking about and will decide to buy from you instead of your competitors.

7.   Start An Affiliate Program

This is possibly the best marketing tip for any business on a tight budget.

By having a team of affiliates (individuals and companies who promote your products on their websites for a commission on each sale that they get) you get people marketing your product for free.

There is absolutely no limit to the number of people that you can have promoting your services. In fact the more you have, the more likely you will make many more sales.

There are a lot of third party applications and plug-ins out there which make setting up an affiliate program easier. They will handle all of your sales and commissions. Feel free to contact us for more information and we will get you up and running in no time.

8.   Answer Questions Relating to Your Product or Service

The internet is the first place people look to for answers if they have a question about a particular product or service.

They post their questions on discussion forums and question and answer sites like Yahoo Answers. If you can provide the answers to their questions relating to your products or services, you can attract a ton of brand new customers. It is a perfect free way to get more visitors to your website and gain credibility.

9.   Go To Networking Events

Networking events are a great place to find new clients and all businesses should make it a practise to attend networking events if possible.

These are generally arranged by The Chamber of Commerce or global organisations such as BNI (Business Networking International). A quick search online will reveal a number of networking events in your area.

They work because you will always meet somebody you can form a business relationship with. This will either be as a customer or as a useful contact to give your referrals or joint venture with.

10.  Ask For Referrals

It is surprising how many companies don’t ask their customers for referrals. Why not? If you have satisfied and happy customers, you really should be asking for referrals as it a very effective way of getting even more happy customers.

Some people feel shy about asking and are afraid that the customer will turn them down. However, you will be surprised at how few customers actually will say no.

If a large proportion of customers do refuse to introduce you to others, it might be a sign that you are doing something wrong and could be doing a much better job of making them happy, giving you something to work on.

For a pain-free way of asking for referrals, why not try this method; Look up your current customers on LinkedIn and see who they are connected with. If you think someone that they know can personally benefit from your product or service, ask them for an introduction.

Most, if not all will say yes, especially if you return the favor.

11.  Harness the Power of YouTube

Companies are latching on to the importance of YouTube in their marketing campaigns. Not only do videos now appear in the search results, but you can also use videos to show how good your product or services actually are.

If, for example, you create stunning cakes, why not show a video of you making and icing the cake. Or if you are a painter and decorator, create a video showing the transformation of the room with a before, during and after video. Do you provide a lawn care service? If so, again, video the results.

There is no end to the things that you could video relating to your company. Even a tour around your company premises could be interesting to your customers.

12.  Provide Exceptionally Good Customer Service

The best way to keep a customer for life and to get them to tell others about your company is by providing exceptionally good customer service. By doing so, not only will customers be happy with their purchase but they will spend more of their hard earned money on your product or services in the future.

There has never been a more important time for your company to provide excellent customer service, especially as customers are more willing to tell others about their shopping experiences on their social networking sites and by leaving reviews, good or bad.

You want them to tell all of their friends about the great experience they had using your company.

13.  Do Some Online PR

As you know, getting some good PR is a great free way to get people talking about your company. The more they talk about you, the more people will come to your website and check out what you are offering.

Most people think of PR coming from major media outlets such as radio and television. While this would be fantastic, it is not easy to get that sort of attention.

However, there are easier ways to get PR online which can be just as effective, especially if you have a targeted customer group.

Getting the attention of blog owners is one way of doing this, especially if it is a popular and attracts the sort of readers that you want to target.

You can email the blog owner, asking if they would like to interview you. As they are constantly looking for new topics to write about, many will be happy to interview you, especially if it is something that they think their readers will benefit from.

14.  A Crafty Twitter Technique

If you want more customers, here is a great suggestion to encourage people to promote your business for free AND build up a huge mailing list at the same time.

Here is the plan:

Offer a free downloadable report, or set up an exclusive password protected VIP Loyalty Group on your website or Facebook page where you will have special offers and discounts not available to anybody else.

People can get access to the report or VIP area by Tweeting about your product or service.

Once they have sent the Tweet, they notify you and you give them access to their prize.

This is an incredibly powerful way to not only spread the word about your company and website but also to build your online mailing list (if you are giving them the report) or group of followers on Twitter and Facebook.

This means you can keep in touch with these people and build a relationship with them. It will be good for your branding and for your internet presence.

As a variation, you can do this by asking for ‘Likes’ on Facebook or any other social site.

If just 10 people do this per day and they each have a following of 100 friends and family, you can see how quickly word will spread about your business.

Every business could do with some extra sales.

Here are 7 no cost conversion tips that quick and easy to implement but will significantly increase your profits week in, week out.

Limit the Time and Offer

You will sell a lot more products if you place a time or number limit on what you are offering.

“This offer is good forever and just buy whenever you feel like it” does not convert very well at all. There is no sense of urgency and the customer will put off buying, even if they really like it.

“This offer is only valid until 3pm and then will be withdrawn” or “Demand  for this product is huge but we will only be selling 50 at this special price then the offer will gone forever” adds urgency and will encourage your customer to buy.

Show Off Your Testimonials

Customers like to know that they are making a wise choice. Reading testimonials from other buyers will confirm to them that they are making a good decision by choosing to buy from you.

Place your testimonials on your sales page, near your “add to cart” button and on the actual checkout page. This will reduce cart abandonment if they decide at the last minute not to buy.

Focus On One Benefit

What is the ONE awesome thing about the product or service that you are offering?

If you offer too much choice then people find it hard to make a decision and actually buy. So concentrate on just one amazing reason why they should buy your product or use your service.

Behind the curtain

Some potential customers get nervous about what will happen after they purchase an item. For example they might worry that your online processor won’t take them to the download page or what to do next after they have entered their credit card details.

Why not make video showing exactly what will happen once they enter their credit card details, guiding them from the order button right the way through to the download page.

This will be reassuring to them and will generate a lot more extra sales from some clients who might have had second thoughts about buying.

Demo

Why not create a video giving a demonstration showing how awesome your product or service is. If you are selling an amazing vacuum cleaner for example, then demonstrate how good it is.

Once a customer sees that the product or service does exactly what they want it to do then they will be more than happy to buy.

No Risk

“What if I don’t like it?”

“No problem. We will give you ALL of your money back!!”

People must know that they can get their money back if the product or service is not what they thought it was.

Offering a no quibble money back guarantee will take away any of the anxiety or worry that a client may have and they will buy from you with confidence.

Positive Passion

You will always sell more when the audience can feel your excitement for a product or service. Your passion and enthusiasm will shine through and help convert sales.

The way your customers look for information about the products and services they need has changed forever. A massive 82% of customers now look for a local business on the Internet instead of traditional means such as the phone book or newspapers.

If you want your business to be an online giant, you need to ensure your business is one of the first results a potential customer sees when they are searching online.

Having your business listed on Google Plus Local is a vital first step if you want your business to be seen and to attract local customers.

Why Google+ Local

Google Plus Local is a free business directory that is placed at the top of Google’s search results. Google displays your business on a map and in a list at the top of the search results page. The map is highly visible to anybody searching for your local business or service online.

How Does Google+ Local Work?

Google compiles data from major certified information sources to determine which businesses should be listed on Google+ Local. The more your business features in these information sources, the higher Google will rank your business in Google Places.

If your business is new or does not consistently feature in some of the sources then your business will not be seen by any local customers searching for your goods and services in the search engines.

If you already have a website that is ranked highly in the Google search results, you will also be more visible in Google Plus Local. However, even if your website doesn’t rank very highly in organic search results, simply claiming your Google Plus Local page will still help your business become very visible to potential customers and will help your business in other ways.

To better understand how Google plus Local works, open your browser window and go to http://www.google.com.

Now enter your business type.  For my example, I have chosen “dry cleaners”.  Now hit “search”.

Your page may look slightly different to my image, (which is shown **** Put the location of image either on page, or blog post****), but you will still be able to see the same sections of information:

1) Paid search results

2) Map with markers

3) Local Search Results (the businesses marked on the map)

The Map (2) and the Local Search Results (3) are where your business will be placed using Google+ Local.

How will potential customers see YOUR business?

This section really emphasizes the importance of claiming your Google+ Local page.  When a potential customer searches on Google, a map appears toward the very top of the search results as shown in the graphic above.

This map displays the location of businesses in the area that are related to type of business the consumer has just searched for in Google. These are displayed as pinpoints on the map.

In addition you will also see at the top of the results a list next to that map. When you claim your Google+ Local page your business will feature in this list of local businesses.

Businesses relevant our search term “dry cleaners” are visible on the map AND in the list to the left.

This map stays permanently visible even if the customer scrolls down the page, resulting in the top ranked business being visible to searchers at all times.

The displayed map and list are based on the location of the person using the Google search engine so it doesn’t matter where they are, they will always see businesses local to them at that particular time.

Having a well-crafted Google Places listing, combined with a few optimization tips, will have you positioned at the top of the list of businesses and displayed more prominently on the map so you will get a lot more customers.

Will I still benefit from my free Google Plus Local list if I do not have a website?

It doesn’t matter whether you have a website for your business or not, as your business profile in Google Plus Local allows you to be visible on the map and in the corresponding search positions. This means shoppers can still find you.

The Google Plus Local listings are used by other search engines for information, so even if you are not in the top 10 results, there are more ways for your Google Plus Local listing to help make your business visible on the internet. You will still benefit from Google Plus Local without a website.

For best results optimize your business listing. Maintain and update it regularly. This will help you be displayed in the top 10 results. Having a separate website that ranks properly in Google will also impact how highly you appear in the Places results.

The handy thing about Google Plus Local is that you can login and update your listing any time, so if you build a website later on, you can add that information to your Google Plus Local listing and raise your visibility.

Your listing is visible as soon as it is processed. We have had listings that were verified by telephone appear in Google Plus Local and Google Maps within hours of submission, so the sooner you claim your page the quicker you can get the benefit.

What if I do not appear on the first page of Google Plus Local results?

Some businesses have more competition than others, and your business may not appear in the top 10 results from Google Plus Local right away.

However, this can be fixed by giving Google a bit more information about your business, and this is something that we can definitely help you with.  You need to give Google the right information to ensure your business is listed over your competitor.  We can guide you through the process and ensure you give Google the exact information they are looking for.