The Way We Were
“We’ve always done it this way”. The procrastinator’s creed. 10 years ago the internet was still in it’s infancy and local search wasn’t a must-have on anyone’s list. It is now.
Q: Do I have to submit my business listing to the hundreds of local directories that are out there?
A: No. You can skip this step and continue to hope people drive by and see your store. Not many of your competitors are doing this either; just the successful ones. Go ahead and skip this step and have fun with the kids at the soccer game.
Q: Is it really necessary to claim my business listings in Google, Yahoo, and Bing?
A: Of course not! Your basic information is probably already in there and even if the contact information and address is incorrect, anyone who finds it will figure out it’s wrong when they try to find you and probably just call you. (Hope your phone number is correct!) You can skip this step, too.
Q: I already have a website. It was brand new the first of last year. Why do I need to update it? It’s just an “online brochure”!!?
A: You probably don’t need to do anything. Google prefers websites that are constantly adding new, relevant content and providing something of current value to readers. Those sites get higher rankings for that, so the more businesses that do absolutely nothing to their websites makes it that much easier for Google and Yahoo to find the few that know how to win the game. Why don’t you just make it easy on the spiders to recognize the top sites; skip this step, too.
Q: I don’t like to write. Do I really need a blog?
A: Heavens no! There are thousands of businesses out there that don’t have a blog and are doing just fine. And those unemployed article writers you can find online that work so cheap really oughta find a real job anyway. Besides, if you all stick together and chant the same mantra, (“we’ve always done it this way, we’ve always done it this way…”) you might actually reach “average nirvana” and come to believe that it’s unnecessary. The absence of any valuable content out there from you gives the little spiders extra time to rest; a real plus!
Q: All this social media stuff sounds like a waste of time to me. Do I have to do that?
A: Nope. Starting conversations with other people about how you might help them, takes away valuable time you might use for other pursuits like complaining about the recession full-time. In the final analysis there are probably not enough people with problems to go around so it may be a good idea to leave those willing prospects to your techno-savvy competitors out there.
That’s what I thought. The way we’ve always done it has always worked. When I was a kid we had to walk 5 miles to school in the snow, uphill both ways and…..
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Phillip Crum is the Chief Idea Officer of MarketingMeasure located at 2414 Arbuckle Court Dallas, TX 75229, and is committed to the idea of helping small business owners do a better job of finding their next customer or client. He and his two sons,Tyler and Preston, also own a Sir Speedy Printing franchise and employ those additional capabilities in the overall marketing services menu of offerings. Phillip can be reached at 214-213-7445, or pcrum@MarketingMeasure.com.
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