![\"YellowPages\"](\"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/YellowPages.jpg\")
<\/a>Long long ago, in a galaxy far far away, in a place called the 1970’s, if your business wasn’t listed in a business bible called the “Yellow Pages”, then new customers didn’t know how to find you, and returning customers had a difficult time remembering how to contact you. \u00a0Unless you lived in a “one-horse-town” your business did not thrive unless you were included in this book.<\/p>\nIn many ways business was simple, we did not worry about global markets, just in time inventory, data analytics and marketing campaigns were just deciding how big of an ad to place in the “Book” and how many ads to place in the local newspaper each year.<\/p>\n
![\"68672-bigthumbnail\"](\"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/68672-bigthumbnail.jpg\")
Engage the Hyperdrive<\/h2>\n
It was sometime in the early 1980’s that Sir Tim Berners-Lee, working for CERN, frustrated with having to learn different operating systems and syntax just to read information shared by fellow scientists, invented the HyperLink, and way of connecting data.<\/p>\n
Of course, the internet was born from this creation and the availability of desktop computers allowed us all to share in any knowledge that was linked.<\/p>\n
The Empire Struck Down![\"2271962_s\"](\"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/2271962_s-300x200.jpg\")
<\/a><\/h2>\nThe internet, in it’s infancy, was a collection of geeks armed with 28.8 baud modems, who looked up and shared information on library and \u00a0other public boards, just because they could. \u00a0They were internet Jedi-in-training sending email encoded messages to each other until the mid 90’s when\u00a0Netscape<\/a>\u00a0was born which allowed everyone to access to the information that was out there…and there was lots of it. \u00a0In an attempt to organize all the information search engines were created to help people find the information, including business address and phone numbers and eventually email addresses. \u00a0The foundations of the Empire of the Yellow Book were being assailed.<\/p>\nSearch engines only did a passable job at finding information, and good search engines took a long time to find what you wanted. \u00a0Researching something online could take days, most of it just waiting for queries to be returned.<\/p>\n
A New Hope<\/h2>\n
In the late 1990’s two of these internet Jedi – Larry Page and Sergey Brin – decided they needed a better way to search and index the growing amount of data on the web. \u00a0The\u00a0Google Search Engine\u00a0<\/a>was their brainchild. \u00a0By 2002 Google became a verb – “I googled it to find out”. \u00a0It took the Empire of the Yellow Book another 5 years before they understood their fortress was falling down and start IYP, their Internet Yellow Pages. \u00a0By 2011 78% of customers reported using a search engine to find a local business.<\/p>\n\nGoogle\u2019s mission is to organize the world\u2019s information and make it universally accessible and useful.<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\nTen things that Google holds to be true<\/a><\/h3>\nYou can click the link for a more in-depth expansion<\/p>\n
\n- Focus on the user and all else will follow.<\/li>\n
- It\u2019s best to do one thing really, really well.<\/li>\n
- Fast is better than slow.<\/li>\n
- Democracy on the web works.<\/li>\n
- You don\u2019t need to be at your desk to need an answer.<\/li>\n
- You can make money without doing evil.<\/li>\n
- There\u2019s always more information out there.<\/li>\n
- The need for information crosses all borders.<\/li>\n
- You can be serious without a suit.<\/li>\n
- Great just isn\u2019t good enough.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u00a0So What Does This All Mean\u00a0for Business Today?<\/h2>\n\n- Consumers spend an average of 79 days gathering information before making a major purchase<\/li>\n
- 60% of consumers start their research with a search engine before heading to a specific website<\/li>\n
- 88% of consumers made their final purchase in store<\/li>\n
- 66% of shoppers conducted their research on a PC or laptop at home and 15% conducted their research on a mobile device at \u00a0home<\/li>\n
- 19% think it\u2019s very important that retailers have mobile friendly websites<\/li>\n
- 79% of shoppers feel empowered by technology because it provides access to information<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
“…the internet as a whole and search, specifically, are undoubtedly one of the best and most important ways to reach consumers and build a business, no matter the size, reach, or focus.”<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0link<\/a>\u00a0Rand Fiskin – Moz<\/h4>\nKatie Charbineau of Thornley Fallis explores\u00a0these points –\u00a081% OF SHOPPERS RESEARCH ONLINE BEFORE BUYING<\/a><\/p>\nRand Fishkin and Moz writes a great article with lots of stats about search engine use in\u00a0How People Interact with Search Engines<\/a><\/p>\nSo what does it all mean…the Yellow Book will be retired to museums within our lifetime.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Why Should You Care<\/h2>\n
Well, from the 2 articles linked above we see that consumers do a lot of research before making a purchase these days. \u00a0When coupled with the fact that Google wants to bring the best results to the searcher, then it follows that if you write great information, and a consumer reads it, they are more likely to buy your product…in your bricks and mortar store! \u00a0Wow, people still like to purchase in a store.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nSo it follows that your website, on the internet, is just an advertisement, for your products or brand in general. \u00a0Your website just replaces the old yellow pages and local newspaper advertising. \u00a0When comparing costs, we see that owning a website is relatively cheap when compared to any print advertising. \u00a0<\/strong>Yellow Page ads, start at about $25 monthly just for a line listing and can easily run into the $100’s each month if you want any kind of display ad or want to be in a few related categories or spread your wings into neighbouring districts. \u00a0A local newspaper ad will start at $250 for 1 week and easily run $500-$600 weekly for a decent sized ad.<\/p>\nConversely, websites last forever and for most small businesses can be built for between $1500 and $2500 depending on size and options. \u00a0A website can reach the whole world and showcase as many different product categories you wish. \u00a0You can also share customer stories, local initiatives that you participate in and current promotions for a little cost or a little time.<\/p>\n
Marketing Your Website<\/h2>\n
Many local businesses are listed in Google Local and can show up in local searches easily. \u00a0Free social media platforms, like Facebook, can be used to engage with customers and drive your website higher in search results…and all this is free.<\/p>\n
For modest amounts of capital, say $200 -$1000 monthly, you can buy pay-per-click advertising with Google, Facebook and others. \u00a0This is still less than you would pay for print-advertising today. \u00a0The results can be analysed and campaigns can be tailored to achieve higher rates of return even at these modest budgets.<\/p>\n
If you really want to go all out, you can hire an SEO firm to manage your CPC campaigns and do some content marketing and manage social media platforms for you. \u00a0This would start around $500 monthly and run into the $1000’s each month if you wanted. \u00a0Yes, this is more than you would spend on local print advertising, but the payback is much greater. \u00a0If you are doing this, you are aiming at being a market leader in your territory. \u00a0And remember all this can be measured and analyzed so you will know if the funds spent on marketing campaigns has profitable results.<\/p>\n
Good information is Good Selling<\/h2>\n
Remember in the stats above that consumers do a lot of research before buying these days and they use search engines to do it. \u00a0Yet they like to come to your store and buy it from you. \u00a0So you have to know what you are talking about…you have to know your product. \u00a0In the past \u00a0we went to the store with the most knowledgeable staff today consumers want to be educated before they enter a store and they will do that by reading your content.<\/p>\n
![\"googlesemanticsearch\"](\"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/googlesemanticsearch.jpg\")
<\/a>Promoting your Content<\/h2>\nIn the beginning Google looked at backlinks, that is hyperlinks from outside sources, linking to your content. \u00a0Up until recently he who had the most backlinks, from the most authoritative pages, won. \u00a0Basically Google viewed a backlink was a vote for your content, not a bad idea until people started gaming the system and creating “unearned” links to content in order to surface their sites higher in search results. \u00a0Today with Semantic Search, you can read all about it in\u00a0David Amerland’s<\/a>\u00a0book\u00a0Google’s Semantic Search<\/a>\u00a0 -basically the\u00a0way it works now is based on relationships between people and websites, not just links. \u00a0This cannot be automated nor can you pay someone in a third-world country to create reams of content for you on a weekly basis so it is less likely to be gamed. It takes time, effort and a plan for website owners to build relationships between their ![\"seo-help\"](\"http:\/\/www.harrisweb.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/seo-help.jpg\")
<\/a>sites and their audience.<\/p>\nUpdate:<\/strong><\/em> Since initially publishing this article David Amerland has written another book – a 20 step guide to better SEO and getting your business found on the web. You can find it here<\/a>. \u00a0In this book you will learn how to:<\/p>\n\n- Make quick SEO gains for your website<\/li>\n
- Take your search marketing to the next level<\/li>\n
- Use search in your branding efforts<\/li>\n
- Define the uniqueness of your business<\/li>\n
- Create trust and authenticity on the web<\/li>\n
- Make use of current promotional techniques<\/li>\n
- Integrate video and images in search marketing<\/li>\n
- Shape your digital identity<\/li>\n
- Form clear brand values<\/li>\n
- Future-proof your SEO<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
It takes time for Google to learn how to understand the meaning of the content and the relationships between the content and the audience. \u00a0With the Hummingbird update in the fall of 2013 Google took a giant step forward in understanding what people where writing about…and what comments where saying about the content. \u00a0For a really good understanding of\u00a0the Google Index and how Hummingbird affected it, you can read\u00a0Eric Enge’s<\/a>\u00a0post\u00a0A Hummingbird isn’t just for Christmas, it’s for life<\/a>.<\/p>\nTo study the relationships between people and content Google uses social media, where people interact with each other and the content that they all produce in an effort to render better answers to your search queries, answers that reflect what people deem valuable.<\/p>\n
Search engines only did a passable job at finding information, and good search engines took a long time to find what you wanted. \u00a0Researching something online could take days, most of it just waiting for queries to be returned.<\/p>\n
A New Hope<\/h2>\n
In the late 1990’s two of these internet Jedi – Larry Page and Sergey Brin – decided they needed a better way to search and index the growing amount of data on the web. \u00a0The\u00a0Google Search Engine\u00a0<\/a>was their brainchild. \u00a0By 2002 Google became a verb – “I googled it to find out”. \u00a0It took the Empire of the Yellow Book another 5 years before they understood their fortress was falling down and start IYP, their Internet Yellow Pages. \u00a0By 2011 78% of customers reported using a search engine to find a local business.<\/p>\n You can click the link for a more in-depth expansion<\/p>\n Katie Charbineau of Thornley Fallis explores\u00a0these points –\u00a081% OF SHOPPERS RESEARCH ONLINE BEFORE BUYING<\/a><\/p>\n Rand Fishkin and Moz writes a great article with lots of stats about search engine use in\u00a0How People Interact with Search Engines<\/a><\/p>\n So what does it all mean…the Yellow Book will be retired to museums within our lifetime.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Well, from the 2 articles linked above we see that consumers do a lot of research before making a purchase these days. \u00a0When coupled with the fact that Google wants to bring the best results to the searcher, then it follows that if you write great information, and a consumer reads it, they are more likely to buy your product…in your bricks and mortar store! \u00a0Wow, people still like to purchase in a store.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n So it follows that your website, on the internet, is just an advertisement, for your products or brand in general. \u00a0Your website just replaces the old yellow pages and local newspaper advertising. \u00a0When comparing costs, we see that owning a website is relatively cheap when compared to any print advertising. \u00a0<\/strong>Yellow Page ads, start at about $25 monthly just for a line listing and can easily run into the $100’s each month if you want any kind of display ad or want to be in a few related categories or spread your wings into neighbouring districts. \u00a0A local newspaper ad will start at $250 for 1 week and easily run $500-$600 weekly for a decent sized ad.<\/p>\n Conversely, websites last forever and for most small businesses can be built for between $1500 and $2500 depending on size and options. \u00a0A website can reach the whole world and showcase as many different product categories you wish. \u00a0You can also share customer stories, local initiatives that you participate in and current promotions for a little cost or a little time.<\/p>\n Many local businesses are listed in Google Local and can show up in local searches easily. \u00a0Free social media platforms, like Facebook, can be used to engage with customers and drive your website higher in search results…and all this is free.<\/p>\n For modest amounts of capital, say $200 -$1000 monthly, you can buy pay-per-click advertising with Google, Facebook and others. \u00a0This is still less than you would pay for print-advertising today. \u00a0The results can be analysed and campaigns can be tailored to achieve higher rates of return even at these modest budgets.<\/p>\n If you really want to go all out, you can hire an SEO firm to manage your CPC campaigns and do some content marketing and manage social media platforms for you. \u00a0This would start around $500 monthly and run into the $1000’s each month if you wanted. \u00a0Yes, this is more than you would spend on local print advertising, but the payback is much greater. \u00a0If you are doing this, you are aiming at being a market leader in your territory. \u00a0And remember all this can be measured and analyzed so you will know if the funds spent on marketing campaigns has profitable results.<\/p>\n Remember in the stats above that consumers do a lot of research before buying these days and they use search engines to do it. \u00a0Yet they like to come to your store and buy it from you. \u00a0So you have to know what you are talking about…you have to know your product. \u00a0In the past \u00a0we went to the store with the most knowledgeable staff today consumers want to be educated before they enter a store and they will do that by reading your content.<\/p>\n In the beginning Google looked at backlinks, that is hyperlinks from outside sources, linking to your content. \u00a0Up until recently he who had the most backlinks, from the most authoritative pages, won. \u00a0Basically Google viewed a backlink was a vote for your content, not a bad idea until people started gaming the system and creating “unearned” links to content in order to surface their sites higher in search results. \u00a0Today with Semantic Search, you can read all about it in\u00a0David Amerland’s<\/a>\u00a0book\u00a0Google’s Semantic Search<\/a>\u00a0 -basically the\u00a0way it works now is based on relationships between people and websites, not just links. \u00a0This cannot be automated nor can you pay someone in a third-world country to create reams of content for you on a weekly basis so it is less likely to be gamed. It takes time, effort and a plan for website owners to build relationships between their Update:<\/strong><\/em> Since initially publishing this article David Amerland has written another book – a 20 step guide to better SEO and getting your business found on the web. You can find it here<\/a>. \u00a0In this book you will learn how to:<\/p>\n It takes time for Google to learn how to understand the meaning of the content and the relationships between the content and the audience. \u00a0With the Hummingbird update in the fall of 2013 Google took a giant step forward in understanding what people where writing about…and what comments where saying about the content. \u00a0For a really good understanding of\u00a0the Google Index and how Hummingbird affected it, you can read\u00a0Eric Enge’s<\/a>\u00a0post\u00a0A Hummingbird isn’t just for Christmas, it’s for life<\/a>.<\/p>\n To study the relationships between people and content Google uses social media, where people interact with each other and the content that they all produce in an effort to render better answers to your search queries, answers that reflect what people deem valuable.<\/p>\n\n
Google\u2019s mission is to organize the world\u2019s information and make it universally accessible and useful.<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Ten things that Google holds to be true<\/a><\/h3>\n
\n
\u00a0So What Does This All Mean\u00a0for Business Today?<\/h2>\n
\n
“…the internet as a whole and search, specifically, are undoubtedly one of the best and most important ways to reach consumers and build a business, no matter the size, reach, or focus.”<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0link<\/a>\u00a0Rand Fiskin – Moz<\/h4>\n
Why Should You Care<\/h2>\n
Marketing Your Website<\/h2>\n
Good information is Good Selling<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Promoting your Content<\/h2>\n<\/a>sites and their audience.<\/p>\n\n