Life Beyond Google – Search Marketing is More Than Just the Behemoth

So how does a small business cope? By simplifying its approach to knowing how consumers find it. To do this, answer the following questions about consumers:

• Where are they looking for you? Do they use Google, Yahoo or an online directory? What about the phone book? Do they use wireless devices or go online?
• When do they look for you? Consider the products and services you offer, and think about the situations in which your customers are likely to need you. Will they need you for an emergency service, or when they're on the road? Will they wait until they have time to research at home?
• How are they finding you? What keywords do they use when they search? What categories is your business listed under in the directories? The best way to gain insight is to test a few search campaigns and then analyze the data. A carpet cleaner in Orange County, California, for example, discovered that using the term “pet stains” worked well in certain neighborhoods but not in others. It realized that to increase business in affluent neighborhoods, it should instead use the term “elite steam cleaning.”

The bottom line: You can never just be in one place — even if that place is Google — because your customers are everywhere. It's not just about search; it’s about being found.

Kirsten Mangers is CEO of WebVisible, an Irvine, Calif.-based provider of local online advertising products and services. Reach Kirsten at kmangers@webvisible.com.