Web site marketing effective Internet marketing from Targetem

Local Search, Yellow Pages and SEO.

Every day, more and more people abandon the Yellow Pages in favor of using search engines like Google as a way to locate local suppliers, vendors, doctors, plumbers, stores – you name it.

According to a 2005 study released by leading Yellow Pages consultant ConStat, Inc., 70 percent of U.S. households now use internet search engines when shopping locally for products and services.

There are two ways to get your Website to show up at the top of the search rankings.

(1) Pay for advertising on search engines

(2) hire a SEO company to get your site ranked at the top.

When considering that choice, consider this: experts say natural (unpaid) search listings convert searchers to customers nearly seven times better than paid ads.

Even giant companies such as Microsoft and AT&T have hired search engine optimization consultants to improve their search engine positions for important keywords. Now we are seeing smaller, local and niche players signing up to do the same thing.

To illustrate, look at certain types of local medical professionals: vision correction surgeons, cosmetic surgeons, orthodontists – these are examples of businesses who need to capture a steady stream of new clients. So how can local search engine marketing help them?

A good example of how people search is a person looking for a dentist in Baltimore. Most would go to Google or another search engine and search for the keyword “dentist”. The results may bring up dentist websites in Miami, Albuquerque and Des Moines but the searcher is looking for a dentist in Baltimore so they repeat the search, this time adding the word Baltimore: “dentist baltimore”. It happens dozens or even hundreds of time each day, in every city across the country. In this example, the dentist in Baltimore whose site comes up at the top is going to gain many new patients.

The Web sites listed in the top of the search results will get visited because searchers rarely look beyond the first page of results. The Web sites found at the top are essentially being recommended by Google - an unbiased third-party endorsement that says “this Web site is very important based on what you are looking for”.

Money spent on search engine marketing is far superior to money spent on Yellow Page ads, as Websites can provide more content at less cost, the content can be changed or updated at any time instead of once a year, and it is easier to stand out on the Web than on a page of nothing but ads -- providing, of course, that your site has good search engine rankings.

Search engine placement for local business is a specialty at Targetem. Ask us for proof, we will gladly demonstrate our skill and results in this area. Plus, it’s not very expensive because after all, you are not trying to beat every dentist in the USA, only the ones in your area.

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