How is it Promoted?

• Email to Subscribers
• Google shopper app.
• Google network

Businesses can Limit the offer:

• Limit how many offers sold
• Limit Redeemable by date
• Limit on Areas Serviced*
• Limit Uses Per Customer

*important for pest control guys

Offer runs for a 24 hour window.

http://google.com/offers

The primary way they will promote the offer is via emails to subscribers. Email, according to social media studies, is still the most used social media vehicle. (*CMB Consumer Pulse 2010 ) If the local business makes the offer juicy enough then the business can anticipate that coupon lovers will forward the deal out to their friends and family. This method is ideal for local businesses as the consumers are spreading it by digital word of mouth and are pre-qualifying the target audience for the local business.

It is important to note that Google Offers does not appear to be promoted anywhere in search results for that local business. The offer does not even show on the advertiser’s place page. So promotion through the “Google network” remains unclear and may or may not include content network ads.

Google Offers  is indeed very similar, almost duplicate content similar, to Groupon. And rumor has it that a Google Offers Manager left Google to go to Groupon. So the rivalry between the two is even more heated. And one extra juicy tip, Groupon Reviews show up on local search in the business Google Places Page. Google has not stated that they will be soliciting reviews from new customers aquired through Offers. Local businesses that use Google Offers should note that customers that come through the Offers deal will be using Google checkout. Which means Google is sharing their valuable users with you.

Business Splits Deal with Google

Similar to Groupon, the advertiser’s deal must be approved, which means a 50% to 60% discount on services or products. According to Googler Rep based in Logan Utah, Google takes a chunk of that money upon check out. The advantage for businesses is advertising that is producing quantifiable results. If it does not produce a buyer then there is no cost to the advertiser. The business only takes a hit on profits to get people through the door. It is very similar to giving away free samples in the hopes that the consumer will buy more, and more, again and again. In fact, the Offers outbound call center is targeting local businesses with positive online reviews hoping those businesses will understand the value of retaining a customer.

Bonuses for Local Businesses

How would you like to be a business with a 360 degree view of the interior of your shop? Yes, the Google Offers team is making it happen. Check it out now: Look inside

Google 360 Interior Images now showing in Offers.

Google 360 image in offers, and bonus they upload the images to your Google Places page. Although they are not uploading the 360 to place pages yet. Check out the photos section on the Sultan Cafe’s Place Page The photo author is Google. It was sometime ago when rumors of Google taking interior photos began. In order to jump in line for the interior photos you’ll have to test the Google Offers. If you want more info then you can watch the Google Offers for Business Promo Video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQFDRaKvcvQ

Where is Google Offers headed Next?

(Per their drop down menu)
• NYC Downtown
• NYC Midtown
• NYC Uptown
• Oakland / East Bay
• San Francisco

Beyond that the public doesn’t know where or when Google offers will hit next. Again, rumor has it that due to the manager leaving Google the future locations and launch dates of those locations is very tight lipped. Hopefully Austin, San Antonio, and Houston will hit before the summer pest control season is out. Then Bulwark Exterminating can really dig in and see how successful a Google Offer campaign can be.

Yelp - For Local Reviews

Local marketing bliss is what I want to share! For those of you who own a local business, how would you like to get your business on the first page of Google today? In most cases, you will achieve top 5 results with out any real SEO! What if I told you, that you could achieve these types of rankings without having a website. You would jump on the opportunity right? Of course you would, so here are instruction on how to capitalize:

I, like many other people own an iPhone and have downloaded the Yelp app (a local review service). This app has an amazing feature that allows you to search for businesses and reviews near you. What I have discovered is that most local businesses are not even listed, nor are there any reviews. I had a blast over the weekend reviewing all the places I ate at during a little trip. (Most of these businesses did not have any reviews prior to mine.) So, if you own a local business, even if you do not have a website, you need to get your business listed and reviewed on Yelp.

Let me show you some pictures that should illustrate what I am talking about. Lets say you are out and about, visiting a new town, and looking for a place to eat. You get out your iPhone and open up the Yelp application. You will see in most of the listings, there are no reviews. What’s even better is when you do a regular search on Google for these businesses names (Or ethnic food + city etc) you will get a Yelp listing in the top 2 or 3. I have found the places I tend to pick to eat at are the ones that have reviews. I really want to see what other people thought of the place, and then I will generally add my two cents after I have experienced the restaurant. This application can be powerful for you = Big potential foot traffic booster!!

Yelp App For iPhone

You will see in this picture that the app allows you to search for almost anything nearby. So even if you don’t own an eating establishment, you still need to be on Yelp.

Yelp application helps find local reviews

It is pretty easy to add a review from the application. You can upload photos, write reviews, and a bunch of other stuff. Most of the Yelp listings are already ranking well in Google, so the minute you add your review so will all that new information you posted. Your information, right there – on the top of Google and you paid nothing for it!

Adding a business review on Yelp

Let me illustrate just how easy it is to write a review on Yelp. First, you make your star rating and then include your draft. You can also publish your “app review” to your Yelp account once you are online and signed into your regular Yelp account.

Drafting a review on Yelp

Here is an example of a high-ranking Yelp listing on Google when searching for a business name. See the Yelp listing ranks well, and your business could be ranking with it, whether you have a website or not. You will get actual customers from people who find you online through the Yelp application.

Yelp Google Results

I have talked with several business owners who tell me they get loads of visitors because of Yelp. How do they know? They ask. Any time a customer comes in they find out if it was their first time, and why they came in. Many times, they are told that a Yelp review prompted them to give the place a shot. Don’t miss out on this free money maker! I am telling you to get your business listing on Yelp and start to learn and understand local review sites and mobile applications.

I know I am not the only guy that will snap a couple shots of the food I am eating and draft a review after my experience. This is also a great strategy for working on your business’s reputation management. You need to monitor what people are saying about your business and make it easy for those who enjoy your business to get online and tell others about their experiences.

This last picture is just to show you what the business listing looks like on Yelp. I want to point out that business review I posted and the new pictures I included are already getting views, because the Yelp listing for the business is already ranking. It is instant gratification for local business owners!

What A Yelp Listing Looks Like

Of course, Yelp is not the only local review site out there, in fact, there are more then you can keep count of. But, Yelp is one of the few that rank well and therefore the one you should start with, but be warned, do not go and start filling out your own reviews.  The Yelp review filter (annoying as it is to some) is pretty good and can sniff out bad or fake reviews.

Anyone have success stories with Yelp they would like to share? I would love to hear comments from people who have used Yelp, and can help businesses do more taking advantage of this service! Thanks in advance.

Local Search

I got distracted today and the result of that distraction is this post. I was curious about something dealing with local search and the SERPs – so I decided to do a little comparison. The four major search engines I compared are Google, Yahoo, MSN and ASK. I wanted to find out how their specific local programs compared to one another when searching for non geo-targeted terms? I wondered if I would get any usable results without using a geo-modifier? The following screen-shots are going to explain the title of this post much better then any of my words can. I am also pretty sure that including ASK as a major search engine is a choice I will regret later on, but then again it is the official search engine of NASCAR (and that’s got to count for something, right??)!

I have been a huge Google Local fan for what seems forever, and this post is all the proof I need to know I need to keep using it. I have also been a huge fan of local online advertising, and in many of my posts I share local advertising techniques. I do not know why it is so hard for businesses and other SEOs/Internet marketing firms to remember to include the simple local programs that are offered – for free!

As I was comparing some of the local results with various search engines, I thought it would be interesting to see when local advertising results appear when non geo-targeted phrases are searched. In other words – lets say you live in Arizona, and are looking for a custom pool builder, but instead of searching for “Arizona Custom Pools”, you simply do a search for “Custom Pools”. Which of the search engines are going to help you find results that are relevant to your local area the best?

And the winner is: Google. (no surprises here huh?)

Google Local Results

I did a search on Google for “custom pools” and got these results back (see screen-shot) that give me mostly local Arizona results, even though I searched without the “Arizona” in the phrase. The local results are some of the ones that come up, which is actually the whole point of this post. So, make sure you add your business to the local areas that the search engines allow you to. It is also noteworthy the way that Google includes some local image results which can be picked up from many different places – this occurs by using the right “geo-targeted” keywords in your alt tags and including the right information when you upload your pictures of places like Flickr.

Next up: Yahoo

The next screen shot is of Yahoo, and the reason I am not pleased with any of these results is because not one of them is a local result. They also show nothing in the form of local results as Google does.

Yahoo Local

Of course, I think it’s still important to get a local listing with Yahoo. But, I think that Yahoo can do much better. I modified the search to include “Arizona” in the search phrase, and guess what? Still none of the results are from the Yahoo Local results program. Lots of local results, but nothing that makes it easy to find a local pool builder near me! Yes, It does make a difference too because if it (the SE) finds a builder that is closer to you – that’s a better result. The #1 result for this search was for a company that builds far away from where I live. How is that going to help me? I want results to come up that are useful and that will help me in my area and this is where the local results program could really come into play.

MSN:

The funny thing here was most of the results that came back on MSN, were for the East coast. How is that going to do me any good in Arizona? However, MSN did do a better job at getting me decent usable local results (compared to Yahoo) when I modified the search phrase to include “Arizona”, but still did not bring back any of the MSN Local program results – which again, I think would be the “best” result.

MSN Local

Finally, ASK:

Ask did not bring back any local program results, which I thought they would have, but to my surprise they did list citysearch as the #1 result which I think is far more useful then any of the results that Yahoo and MSN brought back. Even when I modified the search to include “Arizona”, ASK did not offer up any local results = FAIL.

ASK Local

Although, I feel many of these search engines failed, I do still think it’s very important to obtain the local listing through the local program for each SE. Why? Because, there are many times they work really well… for example any time you include a specific town/city.

I just wanted to run this little test to see how every SE compared. Google rocked it of course and what is interesting is that no one else is copying the Google. And usually they do!

It was also cool to see how local businesses, if listed with Google Local, can earn a top 10 ranking out of (in this case) 200 plus million sites for a non geo-targeted seach phrase such as “custom pools”. That alone should be reason enough for any local business to take the time to get listed with Google Local. So besides obtaining the local program listings on all of the major search engines, I have noticed that obtaining listings in other local directories like the following (see below) have helped increase the search engines awareness of your local presence – and I think are a MUST!

1. CitySearch
2. YellowPages
3. USCity
4. AOL Local Search
5. Local Search Guide
6. Yelp
7. Local.com

In conclusion:

The bottom line here is to make sure you go to Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask (TODAY) and sign up for the local programs. It is fast, easy, and free. If you need help figuring out whether you are listed with them or not, you might want to try Get Listed, which a great resource that will help walk you through what you need to be doing. Got anything to add to this? Let me know. I love comments! Thanks!

The whole reason I personally blog is to inform my readers of the things they need to be doing to help them increase their business online.  It really is that simple for me. I am not in it for popularity, and there is nothing (and I mean – NOTHING) that puts a bigger smile on my face, then when someone sends me an email telling me that my methods have helped them make money!

I recently (less then a week ago) posted about free local advertising tips a small local business could do to increase traffic to their website.  One reader in particular took me serious and started to implement the techniques immediately.   I got this email last night:

Hi Mat, just a quick note to let you know how thankful I am to you for sharing the information about local marketing.  It has only been a few days since I started to use the sites you provided and I am already getting phone calls, about 10 so far, and booking new clients because of a Yelp local review.  I asked a friend who has used my service before to write me a review, and it seems to be working so far, she already had an account there.  I can’t wait until I am able to do everything on the list.  Thanks again,  Lee

Lee, that is awesome to hear, and the real reason I do what I do – If this is not proof of how instant these local marketing tips could be working for you, then I don’t know what is?  I know online local marketing works, and there is power in the Internet.  I see it everyday. I love how it levels the playing field, and gives ordinary people the opportunity to become extra ordinary business owners.

If you have had success with local marketing and used other techniques then what I mentioned on my local marketing post, then please share them here in the comments – I would love to hear them.  There was several people who left comments on that post with other techniques and places to market locally.  Just last night I learned about some more amazing local advertising places that could help out your local marketing efforts from my good friend Janet who read the post, shared it with her readers, and decided to add her two cents.  I appreciate that!

Again, you don’t have to have a big budget to compete online if you know what you are doing with local marketing.  Between my original post, all the comments and other people blogging about this, there is plenty of local marketing opportunities to be had.  Just go get them!

UPDATE: Just got another pretty cool testimonial sent to me because of the local marketing post.  Check it out:

Mat, I just got a call from a guy who needs a pretty decent size site who found me on Yelp.  Pretty cool huh?  It’s all thanks to you!