Local Business Continue to Shy Away from Yellow Pages - Giant R.H. Donnelly Files Chapter 11

Businesses continue move their advertising dollars away from Print and Yellow Pages. The latest to fall is Yellow Page giant R.H.Donnelley. Their strategy of big buyouts and combined with shrinking ad revenue sinks the Yellow Pages publisher

R.H. Donnelley filed Chapter 11 in a Delaware federal bankruptcy court last Friday May 29th. R.H. Donnelley said it has reached an agreement in principle with key creditors on the terms of a plan of reorganization that proposes to reduce debt by approximately $6.4 billion, eliminate approximately $500 million in annual interest expense and extend the company's bank maturities out to 2014.

The stock has had a tragic run, peaking at around $78 in 2007 before plunging on signs the economy was beginning to cool off.

As the deal stands, lenders will get 100% of the equity. I am not sure that is really a good deal for the lenders? Would you want to own a rapidly dying business with shrinking cash flow?

Say Goodbye to Yellow Pages and get with the program with Free Internet Local Business listings.

Getting above the Crowd of Interior Designers on Google Local Search

Ten Days ago, Karen T. called me asking if I could help her with marketing her Interior Design company, Beyond Words Design. She worked with Mechele from San Diego Kravet and Mechele referred Karen to me. We agreed that as a local business getting on the first page of Googles Local Search was job #1. If you are not familiar with the concept of Local Search, review this article before you move on.

With over 100 interior designers listed in Google Local Search for "Interior Design Encintas, CA" it looked like it may be a challenge to get on that key top 10 list. I am happy to report that within 10 days using the first Two of my Five Step process Karen was on the first page of Google. We started with the companies below coming up on the search term "Interior Design Encintas, CA".

A. Rustic Rooster
B. J W McCarter & Associates
C. Stems & Co.
D. Sensible Chic Interior Design
E. Id Studios
F. Designcorp
G. Cedros Design
H. Polinara Interiors

After these top local business were six more pages of interior designers based in the Encinitas area. Karen and I created her Blog / Business Website on Google, took control of Beyond Words Design local business listing and then researched why the Top 10 businesses on Google's Local Search were in the Top 10.

After establishing Beyond Words Design as a business on Google Local Business Center and taking ownership of that business idenity we started on moving Karen's company up that road of search pages. The next step was examinining the business that were already on the top ten list and looking at the information that Google had gathered and deamed of value for a Interior Designer from Encinitas CA.

Google and other search engines look to other business databases for information about the validity and value of each business. When prioritizing your plan for moving up the Google Local food chain, you must make sure that your business is in databases that Search Engines use to gather business listings. Google is known to use superpages.com as one of their basic sources of validating bussiness. It is always the first step on your road to the first page of Local Searches.

Another prime strategy is to find business listing data bases that Google may use for specific industries. For example Rustic Rooster and several others in Interior Design were referenced as a business on www.interiordesignersusa.info. With that info in hand we entered Beyond Words Design into the InteriorDesignerUSA data base. The results after 10 days of waiting for the data to be pushed around the internet was:

A. Rustic Rooster
B. J W McCarter & Associates
C. Stems & Co.
D. Sensible Chic Interior Design
E. Id Studios
F. Designcorp
G. Cedros Design
H. Polinara Interiors
I. Beyond Words Design

The next step is getting a similar position on MSN and Yahoo. The other direction is to broaden the Local Search Value of Beyond Words Design to cities close to Encinitas, CA.

Good or Bad - Reviews are Important

Reviews are one of the most important ways to insure that your Local Search Listing is on the first page of Internet Searches. Jeff Saxon does a nice job of showing that there is not much you can do to control the negative reviews that may occur.

You Can’t Edit Your Way Out of Negative Reviews by Jeff Saxon

....Very simply, reviews increase conversion rates. And several studies point to the fact that, yes, even negative reviews help.
It all boils down to credibility. Customer reviews simply have more credibility than your sales copy, so they inspire more confidence in the buyer. And negative reviews lend credibility to the review process itself, standing as visible proof that the reviews are not edited....

...The point: Your brand and product perception is not what you say it is anymore but what Google says it is....

Click here for the Article

Local Search Listing Continues to Grow in Importance

You are busy. You are a Real Business with a Store Front. Why should you care about this Internet Stuff? Simply, it is the most effective way in 2009 to bring more customers to your store.

In the U.S. at the end of 2007 there are well over 10 billion unique searches done each month. Of those searches 4 billion have Local intent (42% increase from 2006). Out of all local business searches, 86% of Internet users follow up their search with a phone call or a visit to the store. Of those, 61% end up making a purchase.

On top of that data, respected technology experts around the world think the world of mobile search is ready to take off in 2009 and 2010. In some places around the world, like Japan, many of these technologies are already in place. They’re in use even in the United States, with more sophisticated devices like the iPhone. Mobile searches are primarily going to pull their results from Local Search Engines.

So what are the pieces to Local Search Listings?

Local online directories such as Google® Maps and YellowPages.com™ are the Internet yellow pages. Profiling your business in these directories is similar to listing your phone number in the traditional yellow pages. Today, customers turn to the Internet to find a pizza store, a beauty parlor or a home improvement contractor in their area. Make sure your business is listed in local online directories where customers are looking for it.

So how do I submit my Business to Local Search Engines, Online Yellow Pages and Local Social Networks? And how do I update or correct wrong entries? - Sometimes this isn't easy to figure out!- For some sites you can do that online, through an online interface, but in other cases you will need to contact the Core Data Provider of the site in question.

Taking control of your business' Local Search Information is the Key to any effective Internet marketing strategy. I can help you to find the right pages on the sites and give guidance to how & where each site (ex. Google, MSN, Yahoo) get their business data from - because only if you know that you can control it. Email me for FREE 20 minute appointment.

Has your Business Identity been Stolen from You?

First, everything else being equal, most people want to do business with a local company. They know it is good for their community and it just feels more comfortable. On the Internet even Google recognizes this and has placed Google Local Search prominently on the key first page of any appropriate search of products or services.

So the good news is that Internet Search Engines like Google and Yahoo are providing high visibility to local businesses. It is surprising that at the end of 2008 it is estimated that less than 20% of Local Small Businesses have taken control of their local business account on any of the major Search Engines. That does not have to be a terrible thing, as the Search Engines can do a good job of at least acting like a web based yellow page and does not hurt your business.

What is alarming is that, either through bad computer algorithms or worse, the high jacking of your Local Business site, the links embedded in Your Local Business may not being linked to your business. This means that the best way new customers can find your business, is being redirected away from your website and ultimately your business. Examples can range from:

• A local franchisee who has a local website going to the corporate site, loosing local information
• A competitor linked to your business siphoning business away from you
• A similar named business being linked to your business

What would you do if you were looking for a Kitchen supply company and a link took you to a Pizza joint? Most people would move on to the next business on the list and you would have lost an opportunity to get a new customer.

Why Should You Care?
Nielsen//NetRatings found in 2004 that 24.4% of searchers on major search engines conducted searches that were local in scope, averaging 4.6 searches per searcher. By 2007 Nielsen//NetRatings saw this increase to 32.6%. Using the Internet to find local businesses is now main stream and can only grow in frequency.

For many local businesses, the question is no longer whether they should begin to market in the local online space, but when. Incredible opportunities are being missed, as consumers search online for local products and services, but the businesses do not have an effective online presence to serve those customers.

I specialize in working with Small Businesses in local markets. As an introduction to my services I will do a FREE analysis of your business and determine if it has been claimed on Google, Yahoo, LiveSearch (MSN), and Best of the Web. All I need is you to email me your Business Name and Zip Code and I will return to you your business’ status on the top 4 Search Engines Local Sites.

Where does the best Advertising Come From?

The single most powerful form of communications is word of mouth.

The Corporate Culture Customer Trust Index 2006 showed that comments from trusted acquaintances topped the poll of trusted channels of communications.

In simple terms, successful businesses continue to strive to make the customer experience memorable so that each customer becomes your advocate. The more advocates you have, the better your business will become.

Social Networking is one of the strongest tool for small business to keep in contact with their advocates and compete in today's down market.

Growing Your Business in 2009 - Case Study #1

Results:
The client's industry (U.S. Specialty Retailing) saw sales drop 13% for Q4'08 and looks to be down ~20% for Q1'09. In this down market, working with me, my client sales:

• Grew 14% Q4'08 over Q'407
• Were up 5% Q1'09 over Q1'08

Background:
Specialty retailer with one location, that has been in business for over 30 years and has a great reputation within their customer base. They have maintained best practices including the business systems they use. They have excellent IT integration from vendor ordering, POS (Point of Sales) systems, to their website. Being a small business owner, the client was focused on the day to day activities and was not able to spend any time marketing their business other than historic use of yellowpages advertising. Q1'08 business was down compared to Q1'07 and I was brought in to bring a fresh look at bringing new business to the store.

Goal:
Leverage in-store personnel, existing IT systems, and NEW Internet Tools to:

• Effectively compete against three larger multi-store competitors
  
• Bring increase in new customers to the store

Tools used:

• Email Capture in POS system
• Updated Website
• Monthly Email Newsletter
• Controlling Web presence / Social Networking
• Google Alerts
  
• Google Adwords
• Google Analytics
• Google Blogger / Facebook / Twitter

Conclusion:
The tools and framework that I provided were only a part of the clients success. The client put a significant amount of sweat equity (Employee Time) creating marketing programs for their customers including product sales, and free demonstrations of their products and services.
What I was able to do was guide the client in the use of free to inexpensive internet tools (Less than the cost of his old Yellowpage advertising - Which they dropped) to get the word of the client's marketing programs to existing and new customers.

Other indicators:

• Web activity increase of 3.5-4.5 fold increase in hits / page views from Q4'07 to Q1'09
• Email capture grew from ~200 to over 2500 in 12 months
• New customers grew from 22% of business in Q1'08 to 43% of business in Q1'09