Small business marketing is very exciting especially when you start to see results. I recently had a customer say “I saw you on top of Google and then went to your website, after that I searched on YouTube and you came up 1st there, then I called a yard sign on the side of the road, that was you too, at that point I figured i had no choice where I was going to buy…” Then he asked, “who does your small business marketing?” and I said , “I do”… Yes a Winner…
Having your website up on the first page of Google and other search engines is really quite easy. It just takes some time to sit down and get started. If you devote a few hours one weekend you can get a great start. You will find that the key to your small business marketing efforts will be found in marketing your website and improving on your offer on your website… There is a friend of mine that owns a business near mine and as a result of using these simple ideas was listed on the 1st page of Google in 2 days. He landed a $3600 job as a result of his efforts. This small business marketing stuff not rocket science, it’s just following what works. If your small business marketing is limited some specific geographical areas then Google Local is a great place to start.
To give you an idea, lets say you search (painter St. Petersburg) on Google. The results will show a map on the top left of the page and then businesses to the right with a click able website and phone number. The info on the right in Google Local has a link to your website and lists your phone number. This is an easy way to increase website traffic and as far as small business marketing goes it is the perfect place to start…Tip: There are a few cool tricks to Google Local that will enable you to show up in more than one city… Under more than one occupation… Google Pay Per Click (PPC) is another avenue if you are looking for great small business marketing ideas or as Napoleon Dynamite might say “sweet website marketing strategies”. Don’t let the PPC scare you you can start to increase website traffic in about an hour and get started for $5.
You can also choose where you want to show up by zip code up to state and country. With PPC you can write unlimited ads and Google rotates them automatically so you can see which ones are getting the best click through rate. You can then delete the losers and keep the winners. You can set a budget anywhere from $5 and up or you can set a monthly budget of $300 per month. PPC has been a very important strategy for my small business marketing. Since January of 2005 I have spent $51K advertising with Google and that has produced sales of just over $1.2m. As far as small business marketing goes the internet is here to stay. In fact Google is one of my favorite companies because I have spent this money and have never even talked to anyone who works for Google. I do get a Christmas card from them each year. There are way too many tips and tricks to Google PPC to go into here. Just take the time and add this to your small business marketing arsenal.