Last week, I was asked to speak at The Independent Glass Association's (IGA) 2009 Marketing Conference at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.  The day-long conference focused on branding, social media, television and radio media buying, value-selling, and my topic "Internet Marketing: Optimizing Your Local Search".  The presentation was very well received and the feedback provided by the attendees suggested that it would be worthwhile to share the content with the "GTS Community".

At a high-level, the presentation focused on how independent automotive replacement glass company owners can compete against a national chain that is investing significant dollars in national television and on-line advertising to capture market share.  These glass company owners can not only compete with a national chain on-line, they can win.  More specifically, independent owners can leverage what they have that the competition does not - local stores, local brand awareness, and involvement in their local communities.

It is estimated that 40% of all Internet searches (via search engines like Google) include "Local Intent".  In other words, an on-line search aimed at finding something within a specific geographic area and typically seeking information online with the intention of making a transaction offline.  In our industry, anything on-line that traditionally was sought in the printed yellow pages.

In a Google results page, relevant local establishments providing the goods and/or services the searcher is searching for are most prominently displayed on page-1 with Google Maps and accompanying local business listings.  It is important that you optimize your business to appear at the top of these local business listings when a potential customer is looking for a good or service that you provide WHERE you provide it - for example, windshield repair in downtown Denver.

I shared with the attendees what we believe are the "Top 5" actions glass shop owners can take to kick-start their local Internet marketing strategy.  It is important to understand that when GTS manages a client's local Internet marketing strategy we routinely manage over 40 specific items on a monthly basis to optimize our clients business listing and mitigate any algorithm changes that occur at the major search engines.  However, we wanted to share the "Top 5" actions that are widely accepted as important first steps to launching a focused local Internet marketing strategy.

So, here is a very abbreviated look at our "Top 5":

#1.  Claim your business listing in Google's Local Business Center (Click Here to Access):  This is a Free listing where local customers already search Google for the products and services you offer.  From here you can create a business listing to be sure they find you and keep your address, phone number, hours of operation, and more up-to-date.

#2.  Leverage your Local Business Listing Address in City of Search:  Have a physical location and address in the city that is relevant to the search (w/s repair Denver).

#3.  Make sure your business information is accurate with the Major Data Providers:  A great way to learn more and utilize a very cost-effective service is http://www.universalbusinesslisting.org/

#4.  Connect to 3rd party local blogs, industry directories, and local sites:  Mentions of your business and locations on community blogs, directories, and sites (chamber of commerce, etc.) will drive improved ranking.

#5.  Customer Reviews:  The more on-line reviews about your business and specific locations, the better.

Soon we will have a recorded version of the presentation in the Internet Marketing section of the GTS community.  Feel free to check back for a more detailed exploration of each tactic.  If you absolutely can't wait....feel free to eMail me at mikej@gtsservices.com with any questions.