Tech companies that primarily market to global or national audiences may be able to tap in to new traffic sources right in their own digital backyard. Local search was one of the top online marketing trends in 2010 and this year it’s even hotter. Here are a few reasons why it pays to get into the local search scene:

Free links. Most local business listings are free, easy to customize (hello, keywords!), and include a link from a popular domain with search authority. Links to your website from reputable sources also help your site rank higher for non-local searches. Google Places, Bing local business listings, Yelp, and City Search are good places to start developing online local listings.

More SERP real estate. In Google, most search queries now return global results mixed with local results. Focusing on building local business listings increases the likelihood that your company’s website will show up in the search results for both local and non-local searches. After investing in local SEO, one Google search could potentially display results for multiple pages on your website, your company’s Google Places page, and several of your local business listings. Throw in a targeted PPC campaign and there is a good chance that your company will dominate the results for your most important keywords.

Reviews and Deals, they’re not just for brick and mortars. Several local directory sites, such as Google Places and Yelp, allow companies to promote deals and special offers at no charge. Deals and coupons can easily be added to a business profile to promote free trials and demos, product and service discounts, training and webinars, and more. In addition, most local business listings also allow customers to leave reviews about your business. Online reviews are now just as important to global and product-centric companies as they are to local storefronts. With the launch of Google Hotpot, Google is placing an even heavier emphasis on online reviews, yet again blurring the lines between local search and social media. Think of reviews as a way to boost your company’s online reputation and showcase its stellar customer service.

In this mobile world, you never know where your customers will be when they search for you online. So don’t just think global or local. Go glocal!

It means that if you thought smartphones were going the way of the lava lamp — a loved, but short-lived accessory, it’s time to think again. Smartphones are here to stay and they are making a noticeable impact on web design & development, and thus, how you represent your brand online.

Today, wi-fi, tethering and increasingly ubiquitous high-speed mobile coverage make it possible for us to stay connected. Always. That means when Joe’s boss asks him to cut IT costs by 30% in Q2, you better believe he’s taking advantage of his 40-minute train ride to explore vendor websites, check-in with his twitter network and update his Facebook friends to let them know he’s under the gun — again — at the office.

So what does this all mean for marketers? At a minimum — and I do mean minimum — it means that Joe is expecting that your website is going to work on his Droid. So, how do you make sure it does?

Here are 3 simple tips to get going in mobile:

1.     Know your audience. What phones and platforms does your audience use most? Don’t forget to include tablets here — have you seen the feeds coming from CES 2011?!

2.     Test, test, test. Find out what phones and mobile browsers your potential customers are using and get them. Then test your site on them to determine what, if anything, needs to be fixed.

3.     Don’t beat yourself up. It’s ok if not all aspects of your site work in all mobile browsers. Like life, mobile is a journey, not a destination. Don’t be afraid to try things and don’t be afraid to ask for help!

2. Instant gratification. They dislike having to dig deep to find adequate information about technical specifications and system requirements. They want to know how things work!

3. Not enough proof. They want evidence that the technology works and that it’s better than what else is available. They like things like competitor charts with features and benefits. They also like white papers with hard data.

4. No demos. It annoys them to be required to fill out a form to request a demo and then be harassed by a sales person. They want to see a demo first and then decide if they want more information.

5. Too hard to see the benefits. Tell them straight up how the technology will make their life easier. Will it help them sleep better at night? Will it reduce their workload? They want to know what’s in it for them right upfront.

I want to pass the feeling that I get from this song on to you and your business. The last year and half has been tough for most businesses. Many have gone into their shells like turtles, hiding out until it’s safe to show their faces.

Well, I gotta feeling that things are looking up for the economy and business overall. I see businesses every day that are pumped up and ready to get out there and go after it. They’re taking a hard look at their market positioning and determining if there are ways they can make themselves more relevant in today’s world. They’re getting real about their web presences and realizing that they need to do what it takes to have a stronger site that is search engine friendly. They may not get what search engine marketing is all about but they know they can’t bury their heads in the sand about it anymore because their competitors are showing up and they are not.

Yeah, I realize that our economy is complicated and one thing impacts another and so on. But Americans are resilient people and we get bored sitting around waiting for the sky to fall so we start coming up with new ideas and ultimately roll up our sleeves and get busy. This is what I am seeing every day with companies all over the country. They’re gearing up to kick some serious booty.

What’s it going to take for you to “get the feeling” that things are going to be good for your business? I say do whatever it takes to wake this feeling up because chances are, your competition is already feeling it.

And while business has gone on thanks to conference calls and email (if you had power), if you happened to be a company that had some of your biggest business-driving events in the last week, you are out of luck— big time. It turns out this was the situation for one of our clients. They had not one but four events scheduled within the last week. All four have a proven track record of bringing in new business. All four were cancelled. Needless to say, they are bummed.

We learned about this because we had a conference call with them yesterday to discuss the plan for revamping their website, optimizing it from top to bottom and getting a program in place to use all of the tools that are now available to transform their site into the lead generation machine it’s meant to be. They are committed to this project and the philosophy behind it like never before. They see the value in investing in their website and using it as the hub of their marketing strategy.  Even when it snows four or five feet within a four-day period and they can’t get out to fill their sales pipeline the way they know it needs to be filled, they will be able to count on their website to reach out and bring them leads. Maybe there needs to be a creed for the Internet now. Hmmm.

I know my company’s website needs some help, but I’m not sure what to do first. Our budget is tight right now so can you tell me a couple of things I can do to get started and what will give me the most bang for my buck?

When revamping a website, there are two areas of improvement that I like to focus on— traffic and conversions. A conversion is the desired action you want your website visitors to complete, such as filling out a contact form or an online purchase transaction. Typically, increasing volume while improving the quality of traffic and conversions will get you the most bang for your buck. But there are many tactics to achieve this goal so it’s no surprise that you’re left wondering where to start. To determine which tactics you should focus on first, take a step back and look at your website through the eyes of a potential customer. Now what do you see? Overall, is the site visually appealing? Can you tell right away what the purpose is of the website and what action to take if you are interested in the product or service offered? Is the site easy to navigate? Are there multiple conversion points that make it easy for you to contact the company or complete a transaction?

If you answered “No” to any of these questions then you’ve got yourself a lazy website! Whip it into shape with a fresh new conversion-focused design and save room in your budget for search engine optimization (SEO), which will improve the quality of the traffic you receive and boost your search engine rankings— you’ll start getting more website visitors and those visitors will convert to sales.

However, if you answered “Yes” to most of these questions then you are ready to focus on search engine marketing via a SEO, Pay Per Click (PPC), or Social Marketing campaign. SEO, PPC, and Social Marketing are all proven strategies for increasing website traffic and conversions. Which tactic you choose depends on your budget, goals, and target audience.

If you had a hard time answering the above questions, then contact Pomerantz for a free Website Evaluation and let us tell you what we think!

Do you have a question for the Marketing Coach? Go ahead, just ask! Email thecoach@pomagency.com or leave a comment to have all of your marketing questions answered.

1. Research the basics

You could spend countless hours reading articles about web design, web development, content management systems, internet marketing, search engine optimization, web analytics, and more, but the goal of your research should not be to become an expert in these disciplines. The idea is to form a basic understanding of the tools available to enhance your company’s web presence so you don’t feel overwhelmed when shopping around for service providers. A few quick searches can help you make sense of the difference between pay per click advertising and search engine optimization or weigh the pros and cons of using a content management system versus not using a CMS. But when it comes to understanding the techniques that are used to implement these tactics— it’s probably best to leave that to the professionals.

2. Research your competitors

Although any good web service provider includes competitive analysis when formulating an internet marketing strategy, it doesn’t hurt to go into the process already knowing what your competitors are up to. Start with your competitors’ websites and make note of what you like and what you don’t like. Look for certain design styles that catch your eye (in a good or bad way), try to find specific functions that appeal to you such as the navigation or portfolio gallery, notice the calls to action on the websites and how prospects are encouraged to contact the company or take a desired action, check to see if your competitors are utilizing a blog or promoting social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc) on their websites.

3. Shop around

If your company doesn’t have an agency of record that can help with a website redesign or internet marketing, do some comparison shopping before you pick your service provider. Not all web design firms, search engine companies, and internet marketing agencies are created equal. Many have a checklist of standard services that they will sell you, even if your company doesn’t need it, so beware of firms that don’t talk to you about your business and goals before offering prices and solutions. Don’t be afraid to ask for references, descriptions of the web work the agency has performed, and the results their clients have seen. Also, if an agency can’t explain their services or results in a way that you can understand… then keep looking!

Don’t worry, if you need help along the way just Ask The Marketing Coach! Or if you want to start shopping around now, contact Pomerantz for a free Website Evalution.