Engagement and Local Internet Marketing

September 8, 2011
 

Today’s show starts with a conversation on infographics – their value to your organization, how to come up with ideas for them, and how to promote them online. Then we take a look at the demands of local businesses, from affordable solutions for creating a website to making sure you’re found where people are looking for you online.

Bruce Clay, Jessica Lee and Virginia Nussey first explore infographics following an article on the art and science of infographics by Bruce Clay Australia’s SEO manager, Kate Gamble. In large part, an infographic helped Bruce make a name for himself in 2000 when he published the first Search Engine Relationship Chart®. Search marketers welcomed the Bruce Clay, Inc. brand into their office life by printing out the chart and putting it by their desks. Sticky, visually graphic content has serious staying power and is inherently able to reach a relevant audience.

Then Mark Knowles, Pixelsilk CEO, talks to Virginia about how a customizable CMS is an invaluable resource for a local or small business interested in creating and maintaining a professional and competitive online presence. Localware is a new product from Bruce Clay, Inc. in partnership with Pixelsilk, that offers a local-focused Internet marketing and Web development package for the small business budget. Mark also explains how Pixelsilk’s unique “tokens” feature helps save time and resources when creating a website or multiple sites on the same theme, which is often useful in local business applications.

Wrapping up the show, Susan Esparza returns one last time before parting with the company to follow her dream of being a fiction writer. But she doesn’t leave before she imparts her experience of local search with listeners, encouraging businesses to care about the quality of their online reviews. It’s been found that people trust reviews from strangers more than reviews from people they know. And people searching for services or goods in a new place as well as a familiar neighborhood are both likely to turn to the Internet and review sites for recommendations. So when it comes to what’s required of businesses marketing today, the first steps are to cultivate an online presence of your own and on relevant online discovery channels.