The chances are, if you’re reading this you have a website and do a fair amount of online marketing – or at least you’re beginning to.
Local search is becoming a very important tool for many businesses.
Twenty or Thirty years ago, if someone wanted to find a local service provider, they’d look in the Yellow Pages or local press.
Today more and more people are turning to Google and the other search engines to find local businesses.
Which basically means, you need to make sure your website and online marketing activities are geared up to make the most of these local searches which means owning more of the web.
Boost your share of the web
There are many facets to search engine optimisation – website structure and design, back links, seo copywriting, internal linking – all of which need to be a constant part of your marketing activities.
A great way to help your SEO and boost your online presence is by increasing the number of web pages you have. That doesn’t mean you have to rush out and pay your designer to add stacks on new pages on your website – why not utilise the power of other websites such as BT Tradespace and Myprospot.
Both of these websites offer you the opportunity to boost your online reach by having your very own micro site for your company. They each offer varying degrees of service (through Myprospot you can also host your own website and still use all the functionality it offers its members).
To give you an idea of what these micro sites look like, here are mine:
So now, not only do I have my main website for my freelance copywriting business, but I also have these web pages too.
These micro sites are great for local businesses. The increase you web presence and therefore local search capabilities and they offer facilities like customer feedback and ratings.
With 40% of small businesses without a website these services are invaluable. Even if you don’t have the budget for a website, you can get a profile and web page up on the internet for next to nothing.
So give it a go – whether you have a basic free profile or you invest in a higher membership (which is well worth it as it is a fraction of the price of any off line marketing you’re doing and will reach a wider audience) – get yourself seen.