Thursday, April 9, 2009

When people search for businesses do they find you?

According to GetFave.com, an online marketing site,
"A recent study conducted by ComScore, Inc., a global leader in online marketing intelligence, found that local search (the practice of using online search tools to find local businesses, products, or services) grew 58% in 2008!

The study also found that most people are not looking for a specific brand or company when they begin searching. Instead, they're typing in broader keywords and specific locations."

Hungry and want to eat tacos...Google: Los Angeles + Mexican Restaurants. Going to the City and want some new ideas...Google: San Francisco + fun things to do. Water gushing on your floor from the dishwasher line...Google: Sacramento + Plumber. I know that I'm always Googling for stuff. If I need a taxidermist or a termite inspector, my typing fingers start twitchin. I also check the Yellow Pages, so I'm kind of mixed. But, I bet the young guys have never picked up the Yellow Pages in their life! They're online, all the time.

So, what does this mean for you and me? That we need to figure out how to get our business websites to show up on Google and the other search engines. This is called SEO, or Search Engine Optimization (you optimize your website so that the search engines find you).