Maximize Return, Minimize CostLocal business marketing can be challenging; especially if you don’t have a large budget or if you live in a small town. As a small business, you need to maximize return and minimize your cost and time investment, so you naturally turn to online marketing and start looking for tips to help you make an effective website and drive traffic to it. There are tons of ways to drive traffic to your site and if you’ve done any research about online marketing strategy at all, you’ve seen that very few of the experts truly know anything about local business marketing. All of their tactics work well if your business is primarily online but need lots of modification to apply them to your offline local business.Google Changes from Local Business Center to Google PlacesBut one tactic that works better for local businesses than online businesses is Google Places or Google Local Business Center. Google has renamed their Local Business Center and added several new features within the last month to make this an even more attractive option. By claiming your listing and making sure all your information is correct, you can make sure your listing shows in Google’s local listings every time someone searches for your product or service in your area.Google Places has an improved customer help center compared to the local business center. This help center includes updated guides, more ways to contact Google if you’re having problems, and information on all the new features. They’ve also added a help forum with designated “Top Contributors” that are able to answer your questions if you get stuck. At least that’s what Google says…we’ll have to see how it actually plays out in practice. In addition, they’re offering improved training through more webinars. Now, if the past is any indication, the webinars will be mostly Power Point presentations with narration and no opportunity for interaction. But they also usually provide some great insights to local business marketing on Google if you have the time to attend or listen to the recordings.Listing Local Businesses Hasn’t Changed…MuchThe basics of getting your company listed and working your way to the top of Google’s local listings haven’t changed. You still need to go into Google Places and claim your business (if it’s already listed) or set it up if it isn’t.When you set it up, remember that local business marketing success is…as they say in real estate…about three things:Location
Location
LocationAs you’re entering information into your Google Places local business profile, always think about how you can add location specific information to your listing. For example, in your business name, you could add your town’s name like this: Taylor’s Dry Cleaning – Wichita’s Leading 1 Hour Dry Cleaner.One of the new features in Google Places is an easier way for you to list the areas your serve. This will help, especially in larger cities or more competitive markets. By listing the names of the neighborhoods, subdivisions, and even zip codes you want to target, your listing will stand out above the other local businesses that haven’t taken the time to update their Google local listings.At the end of the day, local search engine marketing is one of the most straight forward and cost effective ways to market a local business. By taking the time to set your listing up properly at Google first and then moving on to the other local search engines (Bing and Yahoo!), you’ll help insure your customers find you when they look…then you just have to turn them into buyers when they call or visit. But you do that every day anyway, right?
Maximize Sales With a Good Internet Business Marketing Plan
The Internet is the single biggest marketplace in the world for buying and selling all types of goods and services, and the most popular store front for online businesses is a website. There are literally millions of websites currently live on the World Wide Web, which means that the competition for traffic is enormous; therefore it has never been more important to have a good Internet business marketing plan to get your website noticed.Just having a good website is simply not good enough. How are customers ever going to find their way to your website unless it is well sign posted? An effective internet business marketing plan is the way in which you can position your signposts across the Internet highway, and just like any good signs, placed in the right position, they will guide traffic successfully to their destination, namely your website.Internet marketing is not exactly rocket science, but there are many different methods you can employ in constructing your overall Internet business marketing plan, and deciding which methods are right for your product, your market and your website can be a little more tricky.Not many people are born marketers, and to most of us it comes as somewhat alien. Some people take to it quite naturally, but they are quite rare. For most of us we need a little help, and even many seasoned Internet campaigners would rather spend their valuable time running their websites and figuring out new policies and plans, rather than getting bogged down with the mechanics of designing and administering their Internet business marketing plan.Because so many people feel this way, there are many internet marketing companies around that have developed, and that you can approach for help and advice. But as with everything in life, there are good and bad specialist marketing companies, and given the importance that a good Internet business marketing plan can have on the success of your venture, it is critically important to find a company that you can trust, and that will deliver results.Coming back to the various different methods of online marketing that exist, it is all too easy to go down the wrong road and use an inappropriate internet business marketing plan that has no chance of ever driving the traffic that you need to your website. Unfortunately it can be quite expensive to find out the best methods on a trial and error basis, which is why you need to find reliable online marketing advice.So when you are searching out the company that will be right for your business, make sure that they know what they are talking about; that they understand all of the different strategies that can be employed, and most importantly of all, that they have a successful track record. Scammers don’t last long before the word spreads around, so look for someone that has been established for a few months, and that will give you value for money.A good internet business marketing plan will win you lots of new business, so it’s something that is well worth investing in. As you grow your online business, you will become aware that ROI (Return on Investment), is one of the critical areas for any business. No one minds laying out money, just as long as they get the right return on their investment.
How to Capitalize on Opportunities For Last Minute Travel
In order to find last minute travel deals to suit you, it takes plenty of effort, timing and perseverance to find them. There are various ways and strategies that you can use in order to do this. Whatever your reason is for your last minute travel, there are plenty of opportunities available to you provided you seize on them when they are presented. You must keep in mind even with the last minute travel deals, you should still work on trying to get the best price for your dollars. You don’t have to pay high prices because you got them at the last minute. Your goal is to get the lowest price for a good travel deal. Any surplus funds that are left over can be used while you are on your trip. You want to be able to enjoy your trip. You need to learn how to customize and maximize your travel from start to finish. If you delay taking action, you may miss out on something that may never come again. last minute travel deals usually don’t last long. In fact, many people snatch them up the moment they are advertised. You need to get it when it is there, otherwise, you will be kicking yourself later.If you are a procrastinator, or impulsive buyer or bargain hunter, get started now. Do not wait to seize the moment, and the opportunity to save money on last minute travel deals. You can take advantage of those deals that are available. There is always going to be people that cancel travel plans that suddenly become available for you to purchase. You can get great last minute deals on time-shares, vacations, cruises and tours. For a cheaper price you will be able to go to places until now you have only dreamed of. More last minute travel deals have become more attractive because of the competitive low prices. Keep in mind though, since these deals needed to be sold, that there usually non-refundable, so you have to make sure its what you want. A lot of times depending on the market conditions, that is the time most last minute travel deals are available for a low price. When you are looking for a trip during those times, the advantage and opportunity to go, can go in your favor.There are some people who will contact those airlines to do their booking. Or they will talk to tour operators and others to see what discounts and bargain prices they can get on last minute travel deals. This is not always guaranteed to work. Some of these last minute travel deals end up as special offers if you join a membership. Either one can work with people who are wanting to save money. In order for your deal to be effective, there are several things you must do. You should be more specific with want you want as far as travel is concerned. Here are some things you can start out with:Get the time-frames you are interested in, dates for departure and return, and how much you want or better yet, plan spend.
In regard to insurance for traveling, and medical reasons, get as much information as you need to.
Make sure you have communicated the details of your planned travel, to your travel broker, travel agent or online website.
The more options and choices you provide the better chance you have of getting a good last minute travel deal. You may end up getting more than you asked for, which can be a good thing.
When you are booking your trip allow time for you to get to and from the airport along with your luggage.
If you have booked your trip online you should have a confirmation code. Before you leave, recheck the confirmation online to make sure its correct. Computers are not perfect.
If you are traveling with your family ( including babies, small infants, toddlers, infant children ) be sure to include that online or advise your travel broker or agent of same. They will probably need tickets in order to board.
Its important that you book the trip yourself. Try not to rely on anyone else to do the research or booking for you. You know what you want and its up to you to deliver the information, whether its to a travel broker, travel agent or booking online.
Take advantage of any discounts, bargains or specials or anything else that will help you save money. Look for entities that will allow you to purchase last minute getaway packages where you have to fly. These special travel packages can be purchased from two weeks in advance up to the last few hours before the flight leaves. Please note that you will usually have to stay over for a Saturday night. So, if you’re prepared to do that, then this deal can be for you. These packages usually have departure days on Thursdays and return days on Tuesdays. You can also get a package deal where you get a flight and rental car, Hotel and rental car or flight and hotel. A lot of these last minute package deals, are available for less than $300, which is considered a steal. You would definitely benefit from places like Miami or Orlando.You can also go to websites where you can also find last minute deals on airfares, Hotels, car rentals and vacation packages. Make sure the site is easy to navigate and that you confirm your reservations prior to departure. There are other websites that specialize in going to certain destinations, you can still get last minute travel deals this way. In fact, it wont take as long to setup because of the limited destinations and you know where you’re going. The catch here is when you find low-cost travel deals, you will have to snatch them up very quickly. Some of these packages have a very brief time to purchase. They usually expire very rapidly. There are also websites that allow you to book last minute travel destinations, depending on what your interested in. Say for instance your looking for a trip which includes dining and a Broadway show.One of the first destinations you can count on is New York City. In fat, its the major destination for Broadway events. If you looking for a trip which includes fun and sun at the beach, it would probably pull up Florida and California. You are usually guaranteed beautiful weather in those two places. However if you are snow and ski bound, Colorado would be the place to go. Chicago is a great place to see all the rich cultures that live there. In addition to that, they have museums and other attractions to keep you busy. For avid golfers there is always Hilton Head. No matter where you go you will be able to get a good deal on these travel offers.You can also get good deals on vacation rentals. The more flexible you are the better chance you are of getting a good deal. In fact the request for vacation rentals in popular areas outweigh the demand. There are websites you can sign up for that will provide you with the last minute deals available. They will send you email alerts when something comes up what you want.