Generating More Clients, Leads & Traffic for YOUR Local Business

Generating new clients for Local Businesses is very challenging and competitive in today's economic environment. Established businesses are looking for ways to lower costs, but maintain the same customer base and provide the same services. New businesses face an uphill battle of competing against the existing, well-known companies and the rising costs of doing business.

If you were a small business owner in the “olden days,” or the times before mass commercial use of the internet (or before 2005), then the most common way to market your business was in the Yellow Pages (print version) and classified ads. Today, the game has changed. If you have realized that the old methods have been less and less effective, the following suggestions will explain a few ways to get the phone ringing and allow customers to find you, when they need you.

Today, when a customer needs a product or service the most common way for them to find a service provider is to head to the same place you are reading this article, on the internet. These days, it is easier to grab your cell phone and quickly type in a few descriptive words for what you are looking for than to open a phone book, or even jump on a traditional computer (desk-top or laptop). Regardless of how you access the internet via phone or computer, heading to a search engine is the fastest and most effective way to find what you are looking for efficiently. The results provided by the search engine will display the accompanying phone number, address, and business website, but also with a “Map Listing.”

The “Map Listing” is the key to small businesses attracting clients in the same manner that placing an ad in the physical yellow pages used to provide. If a customer is looking for a hair salon located in Manhattan Beach, California, they may pick up their phone and enter into the search browser “hair salon in Manhattan Beach, California.” At this point, they will be presented with the “Map Listings” for all of the local hair salons in Manhattan Beach, California. The businesses listed towards the top of the list, on the first page presented on the map listings have the best chance of the customer selecting or contacting that business. Silver Scissors Family Hair Salon (SilverScissorsmb.net) is one of the businesses that may be presented at the top of the first page, and the statistics show, they will have the highest percentage chance of the customer contacting them for an appointment.

The key here is getting YOUR BUSINESS listed prominently towards the top of the Map Listings on the first page presented. You can do this yourself if you are savvy with the internet, and have the desire to enter your business in all of the major search engines, along with the hundreds of smaller lesser-known (but still important) search engines. If you are not as comfortable using the internet, you can hire a firm to perform this service for you for a reasonable fee. iDriveBiz is an example of a reputable company who can get your business listed within the major Search Engines quickly and cost effectively. They also offer complete “Social Media” services, which is the next step in online marketing to help acquire more customers and generate more leads and business. They also offer complete small business consultation, website design, social media and interactive marketing.

Once listed within the Map Listings for the major Search Engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo!; an individual page for your business will be created for customers to find out additional information that is provided such as store hours, additional details about your business, along with the ability to add photos and advertise promotions. These pages are independent and different from your business website. If your business has a website, it would be beneficial and important to include a link to the website within the Map Listings.

The nice thing about the Search Engine Map Listing page for your business is that you do not need a website to list your business in order to benefit from them, and they are a nice compliment if your business has an existing website. As a matter of fact, the map listings are a great way to “drive traffic” to your existing website. The Map Listings allow the opportunity for customers to rate and review your business, and even provide the owner with a platform to respond if they feel that the review is inaccurate.

There are many additional benefits to having your business listed within the Search Engine Map Listings, but most importantly, once your business has been listed within them, customers will find Your Business when they are looking for your product or service, and you will have the first opportunity to service that new customer. The Search Engine Map Listings get the phone ringing and allow customers to find you first, when they are looking for your businesses specific product or service.

Keep in mind, these days the process of getting a business listed does take a couple of weeks. Google and Bing send you a postcard in the mail once you have submitted your business. They have previously offered phone verification, though that is not always an option presented. Unfortunately, the postcards can take a little while to arrive sometimes, and occasionally they get lost in the mail or you do not recognize them when they arrive; since they are just simple postcards, it is easy to think it is advertising. Once they arrive, you verify your listing and it goes live by entering the code provided via the postcard (or phone verification).

Search Engine Map Listings are just the beginning to what a local business can do to promote themselves in the community. Once the Map Listing is "live," local customers will find you via the keywords that you provided when creating the listing. These customers will then have an opportunity to post reviews about your business. Positive reviews are an excellent way to increase the authenticity of your business.

To get your business listed within the Search Engine Map Listings today and receive a FREE consultation for your local business, contact or visit www.iDriveBiz.com.