How do you translate finding you through Local
    Search to coming into your business location?

Visualize making a phone call vs a search engine searchThe familiar idea of "letting your fingers do the walking" is almost quaint in today's reality.

  Stage 1  Started with a person picking up their print Yellow Page directory when they were ready to buy. They open the section of interest and narrow the choices (by whatever criteria they considered important). As it turnes out, over 50% selected on the basis of location. It was more important than the size or placement of the ad.

  Stage 2  They called and asked any questions.

  Stage 3  The actual selling occurred when you persuaded them to come into the shop or make an appointment.

  Stage 4  You have a face-to-face opportunity to nail the sale and earn your money. And the whole cycle from desire to purchase took very little time.

Local Search gets your “toe in the door”

Compare that with what most people do today. Their main reason for going online is not to buy online. They find it more convenient and faster than the traditional methods like Yellow Pages or newspaper ads.

At the point that a person is thinking about buying something, they go online to research about product features, costs, etc.Many will conduct a local search to see who's able to provide what they're hoping to buy.

A recent study showed that most people who research products online purchase them from stores in their own community. It found that 25% of those searching for electronics or computers made purchases. But 92% of those purchases occurred offline. Nearly 40% of searches resulted in sales as much as five to 12 weeks after the initial search.

Too many small and mid-sized operations assume the Internet is not crucial for their brick and mortar operations. But it is—and becoming more so all the time.

Once you're listed in key databases you have a
shot at being found

First, you need to make it easy for buyers to find you. Then give them a reason to choose from the other businesses listed. Then once the come to your store or office, how good a job do you do to capture them as customers? Local Search is really just a way of getting your "toe in the door."

The locals may know of you because of your being in the community, but be surprised to discover all that you offer from their Internet searches. Your enterprise can show up in searches for many topics—not in a single general category, as in the Yellow Page directory.