The web has become a tool that no business, big or small can afford to neglect. Modern consumers prefer shopping online as compared to the traditional shopping malls and stores. The reason is not because everything on the web is available at your fingertips but also because technology helps browse through a variety of shops and a wide range of products, all from the comfort of your home. Smart phones and apps have also made life easier for the consumers. Today, online presence of a business is the key to its success. There is no other alternative to fight the increasing competition, building a reputation and attracting customers. There has been an exponential growth in the online marketing industry. In 2011, the industry was worth $27.1 billion and by the end of 2015, it is estimated that its value will exceed $42.5 billion according to a report by BIA Kelsey. With a 19% increase every year, the SEO market too isn’t far away. While many businesses choose to make their presence in the online marketplace, online marketing is evolving at rapidly. Startups like the LocalVox have received funding from several New York City Clients and brands like the Buffalo Wild Wings, Piers, Chelsea, Whole Food, and Sushi Samba have shown great progress. Online marketing for these companies have resulted in a 90% increase of client retention and brands recognition over the years. The story is quite the same for all types of startups and local businesses across the globe. According to a recent survey, 74% of local brands believe that online networking/marketing is as important as personal relationship management. However, there are many other companies who still have not realized its importance. Search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo have revolutionized the processes of learning, collaborating, shopping and interacting with local communities. Today, Google manages at least 100 billion searches every month from across the globe. Of these, 4 billion queries have local intent (US Statistics) and 15%-20% are mobile searches. These numbers say that in the United States alone, Google handles more than 7 billion local searches. Also, since March 2009, the Google search engine shows local results in response to generic queries. The significance of mobile search is thoroughly expanding at the same time. It is expected that the volume of mobile searches will surpass that of traditional search engines by the end of 2015. The importance of local web marketing depends a lot on the business model, resources and the marketing budgets. How Does it Matter? Local marketing for businesses provides an opportunity for: Instant access of business from all devices and locations Measurable traffic facilitating targeted SEO marketing Attracting non-locals and the tourists Adaptability to limited navigation and smaller devices Another report by Ipsos MediaCT suggests that 84% of tablet owners and 88% of smartphone owners rely on local searches for their help – right from finding directions to browsing through coffee shops. Another interesting report by Bright Local states that people are actually willing to drive an average of 17 minutes extra to reach destinations they had searched for on their device. Internet marketing has substantially overthrown the popularity of traditional marketing forms today. Also the average cost required to generate a single inbound marketing lead is almost half that of outbound marketing. Hubspot reports that leads coming from organic searches have a close rate of 14.6% while only 1.7% of outbound leads qualify. As the internet driven platforms continue to make the globe a single ‘village’, internet marketing will only become more significant. It’s high time that local businesses use technology to their advantage and have an edge over their competitors. People no more rely on spending an entire evening on a single shore. They would rather prefer browsing through the products and comparing a dozen of them on the internet before they make a purchase. Ecommerce makes it more convenient, quick, cost effective, and customer friendly. Without an appreciable presence on the internet, no local business can afford to expect high ROI.
The web has become a tool that no business, big or small can afford to neglect. Modern consumers prefer shopping online as compared to the traditional shopping malls and stores. The reason is not because everything on the web is available at your fingertips but also because technology helps browse through a variety of shops and a wide range of products, all from the comfort of your home. Smart phones and apps have also made life easier for the consumers. Today, online presence of a business is the key to its success. There is no other alternative to fight the increasing competition, building a reputation and attracting customers.
There has been an exponential growth in the online marketing industry. In 2011, the industry was worth $27.1 billion and by the end of 2015, it is estimated that its value will exceed $42.5 billion according to a report by BIA Kelsey. With a 19% increase every year, the SEO market too isn’t far away. While many businesses choose to make their presence in the online marketplace, online marketing is evolving at rapidly. Startups like the LocalVox have received funding from several New York City Clients and brands like the Buffalo Wild Wings, Piers, Chelsea, Whole Food, and Sushi Samba have shown great progress. Online marketing for these companies have resulted in a 90% increase of client retention and brands recognition over the years.
The story is quite the same for all types of startups and local businesses across the globe. According to a recent survey, 74% of local brands believe that online networking/marketing is as important as personal relationship management. However, there are many other companies who still have not realized its importance.
Search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo have revolutionized the processes of learning, collaborating, shopping and interacting with local communities. Today, Google manages at least 100 billion searches every month from across the globe. Of these, 4 billion queries have local intent (US Statistics) and 15%-20% are mobile searches. These numbers say that in the United States alone, Google handles more than 7 billion local searches. Also, since March 2009, the Google search engine shows local results in response to generic queries. The significance of mobile search is thoroughly expanding at the same time. It is expected that the volume of mobile searches will surpass that of traditional search engines by the end of 2015. The importance of local web marketing depends a lot on the business model, resources and the marketing budgets.
How Does it Matter?
Local marketing for businesses provides an opportunity for:
Another report by Ipsos MediaCT suggests that 84% of tablet owners and 88% of smartphone owners rely on local searches for their help – right from finding directions to browsing through coffee shops. Another interesting report by Bright Local states that people are actually willing to drive an average of 17 minutes extra to reach destinations they had searched for on their device.
Internet marketing has substantially overthrown the popularity of traditional marketing forms today. Also the average cost required to generate a single inbound marketing lead is almost half that of outbound marketing. Hubspot reports that leads coming from organic searches have a close rate of 14.6% while only 1.7% of outbound leads qualify.