Small Business Information

Local Search and Internet Yellow Pages - A Whole NewVocabulary for Small Businesss


Buyers want both online and local information about where to buy Most small businesses are local in nature, serving people who live nearby. Their customers found them through traditional methods like the Yellow Pages or newspaper ads. So far, the Internet hasn't figured prominently in their marketing efforts. That's about to change, as Local Search methods become more widespread. Even for buyers expecting to spend their money close to home, more and more of them go to the Internet to locate desired products and services. They rely on search engines to find suitable vendors in the fastest, easiest way. Local Search combines the search query word or phrase with specific geographic terms, like city or zip code. That way, search results only include enterprises in that local area. Instead of information about a small enterprise being lost among millions of pages of search results, it shows up in a small pool of local providers. That's good for them, as well as the person looking for what they provide.

Small operations can easily be located by a whole new group of buyers Consumers don't simply go to the Yellow Pages when ready to buy - as they once did. Studies show that an astonishing 36% of online searches are conducted to find local businesses. About a quarter of all Internet users already conduct local searches. They'd do even more of it, if the desired small business data were more complete. Local enterprises need to prepare for the impact of changing customer habits. An easy first step is to include your business in Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), along with the printed Yellow Page directory. That puts your enterprise on the radar screen. Learn how your business can make the most of Local Search by visiting http://www.yellowpagesage.com.

You'll find reliable advice from experts in Yellow Pages and Local Search so you can get more mileage from your promotional dollars. Start by getting comfortable with search concepts, and improve your odds of being found when people search online for what you offer. You don't even need your own Web site to benefit from Internet Yellow Pages and Local Search. Learn the Relevant Terms Search Engine - method for locating the information available on the Internet; a program that searches Web pages for requested keywords, then returns a list of documents where the query terms were found Google and Yahoo, the major general search engines, have both shifted gears to make Local Search a priority when delivering relevant results. Spider (also called "crawler" or "bot") - goes to every page on every Web site and reads the information so it can be available to searchers; to "crawl" a site it collects and indexes information from it Specialized Search Engines - narrow focus of information crawled and indexed, like medical, business, or shopping sites Keywords - word or phrases used by search engines to locate relevant Web pages; words chosen to improve a site's search engine placement and ranking Search Query - search request, which the search engine compares to the spidered entries, then returns results to the searcher Search Results - compiled list of Web pages that a search engine delivers in response to a query; the number of items returned is usually overwhelming (in the millions), so searchers only bother to view results on the first pages Relevant Results - the test of a good search is whether the results obtained relate to what the person wanted to find, without a lot of irrelevant links Local Search - combining a geographic term in a search query to locate suitable providers in a specific area Pay per Click (PPC) - method of building traffic whereby site owners bid on search terms (keywords) that link to their site Geographic Terms - specific information about the local area that can be included in a local search: zip code, town, county, geographic region, state Top Ranking - sites shown on the first page(s) of search results Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - fine-tuning keywords and page content so the Web site rates high in search engine results Tags and Titles (on Web Pages) - provide site keywords and information to search engine spiders for indexing a site Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) - directory of business phone numbers and locations in a geographic area, organized by category; searchable data base accessed on the Internet Make your business easy for searchers to find The public is embracing the convenience of searching on the Internet to find information about local businesses.

However, their searches for desired information are compromised because so many local enterprises don't show up in the databases as yet. Those that do have an edge in their local market. Climb aboard! Make sure searchers can find you. For little or no money, you can expose your enterprise to the whole world. Whether or not your business has a Web site, you need to provide the information people are looking for in the places that they look for it. Local Search and Internet Yellow Pages open new avenues to buyers ready to spend. Best of all, they support and compliment your traditional methods of finding new business. So you cover all your bases. (c)2004, Lynella Grant

--Dr. Lynella Grant, an expert in visual communication. How printed materials send signals that strengthen or undo the words. Author, The Business Card Book & Yellow Page Smarts http://www.yellowpagesage.com Off the Page Press (719) 395-9450


MORE RESOURCES:

Small business backed in IR brawl
NEWS.com.au, Australia - 43 minutes ago
THE Rudd Government has backed small business over unions by moving to kill off a compulsory redundancy proposal that it warned could cost employers and ...


RBA rate reduction praised by small business
The Australian, Australia - 1 hour ago
As the stock market turmoil drags on, the Reserve Bank's interest rate reduction has drawn praise from small business leaders. But business experts say that ...


Crime hits small business big time
Independent Online, South Africa - 3 hours ago
According to a Small Business Project (SBP) survey released in July, as many as 38 percent of respondents indicated that they did not report theft. ...


Where Small Business Blossoms
Washington Post, United States - 8 hours ago
By Jennifer Buske For entrepreneur Miles Friedman, leaving the corporate world to open a business five years ago was like sky diving for the first time. ...


Small business service helps prepare entrepreneurs
Texarkana Gazette, TX - 1 hour ago
The Small Business Service Center of East Texas has a new home—Texas A&M University-Texarkana. The center, which helps budding entrepreneurs and current ...


Ask the experts: Small business survival plans
Financial Times, UK - 14 hours ago
By Jonathan Moules Be positive, be distinctive and be brave in the face of a recession, say our experts. “During the last recession, I was running a company ...


Report: Kind champions small business
Leader-Telegram, WI - 9 hours ago
Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, recently was one of 10 officials to make the list of the National Small Business Association's 2008 Small Business Stars. ...


Balti bail-out is no comfort food for small business
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - 18 hours ago
There is also too little water from the fireman’s hose being sprayed in the explicit direction of the small business owners who are being starved of credit. ...


Small business owner: 'We haven't lost hope'
Bay News 9, FL - 13 hours ago
But small business owners in Safety Harbor don't seem to think the bill will help them much. "I think the bailout was just for the big guys," said BJ ...


Dividend.com

BofA's Small Business Lending Woes
BusinessWeek - Oct 10, 2008
by Amy Barrett Bank of America (BAC) has taken a hit on small business lending—and that could mean still tighter credit for entrepreneurs. ...
Analysts: Sooner is better for BofA capital raise Bizjournals.com
Bank of America Corporation Q3 2008 Earnings Call Transcript Seeking Alpha
Bank of America Announces Third Quarter Earnings and Capital ... International Business Times
Wall Street Journal Blogs - DSNews.com
all 861 news articles

Small-Business - Google News

home | site map
© 2006