2010 – The Year of the Internet (aka Online Marketing for Small Business)

Think about it, when you’re looking for restaurants, doctors, car repair shops or any of thousands of businesses you’ll need to actually visit, what do YOU put in the search field? Chances are you enter your own town into the search so that you don’t just get a list of places all over the world, right? Right. As a business owner, it’s vital that your company is represented online so that it actually shows up in these searches.

Businesses have been using the internet for international, national and local online marketing for many years now. But there are still a lot of local businesses that don’t use it, despite that nearly 80% of this country is connected to the internet daily. The internet is happening now and it’s the future of marketing and advertising…specifically LOCAL marketing.

There are sites that review businesses as well. Yelp is one of the most popular social networking websites on the internet. Consumers go there to find out about local businesses, where they are located and how they are reviewed by the other members of the site. And members post their own reviews after visiting local businesses. People make decisions based on Yelp results. Last July, Yelp had 8.6 million new visitors, which was an increase of about 80% over the previous year. So if you have any doubts as to whether local online marketing is just a fly-by-night gig, you need to dispel them.

The internet is here to stay. And local online marketing of your business is more important than ever. Make this the year you give your company a real online presence in your local area. And watch the results.

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