It’s been said that a buying decision is based on emotion and rationalized with facts. Emotions and feelings can be tapped to motivate a customer to click on the Buy button or pick up the phone to complete a purchase. One of these emotional motivators is fear. Fear is the feeling of imminent danger from a perceived risk or danger.

Copywriters tap into the power of fear knowing that most prospects reading an ad or viewing a commercial have two basic questions in their mind:

1. What do I gain by buying your product or service?

2. What do I lose if I fail to buy or respond to the offer?

Combe, Inc., the manufacturer of the hair dye product Just for Men use the fear factor in the following TV ad spot.

The commercial shows an executive, dressed in a gray suit and gray shirt in the back of an elevator. “One day you find it’s not business as usual”, the narrator warns. “Your hair is gray.” The other occupants step off the elevator. He’s left alone to contemplate how his gray hair may be sending his career down the tubes and how he might not be a seen as a valuable player.

Roll the distressing imagery of a crashing elevator car. The man looks panicked - his life is about to end. Suddenly he hits the emergency stop button and Just for Men rescues him from certain doom.

He emerges from the elevator in a red shirt and khakis with the important building plan in his hand. His coworkers crowd around him as they hang on his every word. His coworker gives him a handshake for that sweeeet presentation.

Hey mid level excutive in your 40’s or 50’s, feeling a little insecure about your career path? Keep the gray and you’re doomed, dye your hair and you’re back in the game. So what’s it going to be?

More common uses of fear in advertising is in the call to action. By limiting either the duration of the special offer or the amount of customers accepted. The potential customer fears they miss out on the deal and the product or service that they are interested in will cost them more.

What are some ways you’ve used the fear factor as an effective motivator in your marketing materials?

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Local SEO Series - Part 3 of 3

Over the years, the search engines have been placing an increasing value on links that point back to your business’s web site. These links along with other factors are rolled into a formula or an algorithm. Search engines use these proprietary algorithms to determine where your site ranks for a specific geo-targeted keyword or keyword phrase. Off page optimization is the process of creating links on highly respected external sites that can improve your rankings in the search engines and result in additional traffic to your web site.

Major Search Engines
The first place to start are sites that are focused on local search or have sections of their site that provide the visitor with the ability to find goods or services in a particular city. Chances are these sites may already have your company’s basic contact information. The majority of local searches begin at one of the three major search engines: Google, Yahoo!, or MSN. Take some time to test these major search engines to make sure your business information is in their databases and that the information is accurate and up to date. Google and Yahoo! allow businesses to update the information directly from their Web site, and MSN uses a third party to maintain its database of business listings. To find the link to update your businesses information, look for a link entitled “Edit this listing” on your Google and Yahoo! business profile.

Online Yellow Pages
The next type of web site that online users visit to find local businesses are Internet yellow pages. Just like print editions, online yellow pages are focused on organizing business information into categories based on industry specialties. Instead of thumbing through the pages to find businesses, users type in a keyword that describes the product or service they are in the market for along with a city, state or zip code. A few of the most popular online yellow pages are SuperPages.com, Citysearch.com, Yellowpages.com, and Dexknows.com. The same steps of verification of your business data or adding your listing should be performed on these sites to increase your company’s visibility on the Internet.

Data Aggregators
These online databases are often tapped by the major search engines as sources for business information. Some of these companies were created to service the direct mail industry and have now evolved into sources for local search engines and Internet yellow pages. The four sites that feed all of the major search engines are as follows: Amacai.com, Acxiom.com, Geosign.com, and InfoUSA.com. Visit each one of these sites and make sure your site is listed and the data accurate and up to date. Google and Yahoo Yellow Pages use the data from the database at infoUSA, which contains information on 14 million U.S. businesses.

Consumer Review Sites
Consumer Review Sites or Social Local Search Sites are the online equivalent of asking your friends and neighbors for the name of a good mechanic, dentist, or doctor. The two busiest social local sites are Yelp.com and Insiderpages.com. The popularity of these sources of local business listings is growing. Market share of visits to these online directories with user generated content increased 44 percent from August 2005 to August 2006 according to Internet analysts at Hitwise.

Leverage the growth of these sites by listing your business if it’s not already listed. Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool and it’s the reason why these sites are so popular. Increase the visibility and improve your company’s reputation by encouraging your customers to leave a favorable review of your business.

Other Local Directory Sites
Web sites run by Internet entrepreneurs focusing on smaller communities can be found by searching on Google.com with the search phrase incorporating your town such as “Batavia, IL, business directory.” While these sites may not be as popular as the previously mentioned business directories, each additional link pointing back to your site increases your status in the major search engines.

Community Organizations and Newspapers
If you are a member of a community organization such as the local chapter of Rotary International or the Chamber of Commerce, ask about having a link from the club’s site to your web site. Look for opportunities to feature your business in your local newspaper. For example, most newspapers either share content with their online edition or have a separate editorial staff.

Spending time creating business listings on local search engines, Internet yellow pages, and other web sites should result in an increase in visitors to your business’s web site. Statistics show that consumers who conduct online searches are more likely to buy a product or service in their geographical area.

Local SEO Series:
Part 1 of 3: Local Search Engine Optimization - Introduction
Part 2 of 3: Local Search Engine Optimization - On Page Techniques
Part 3 of 3: Local Search Engine Optimization - Off Page Techniques

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Local SEO Series - Part 2 of 3

On page optimization is the process of changing or “tweaking” elements of pages of a web site to achieve top performance. Performance is measured in an increase in the amount of visitors that view your web site. The first step for on page optimization for local search is to develop a list of geographical terms that are relevant to your company’s location. This list would include terms such as counties, schools, cities, nicknames for cities, and landmarks. Armed with this list, create a paragraph that answers the who, what, why, and where of your business.

Who are you and how long have you been in business?
What does your company produce or sell?
Why should I choose your company instead of your competitors?
Where is your company located and what geographical area does it service?

The following is an example of before and after local search optimization techniques that have been applied to text found on a typical “About Us” or “Contact Us” page for a fictional bakery.

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Local SEO Series - Part 1 of 3

Over the past 10 years, the World Wide Web has helped build a global marketplace. Now with little cost and time, a small business can create a web site that can reach new customers across the street or across the ocean. Compared to other advertising and marketing methods, you can’t beat the Internet as a cost-effective marketing tool to grow your customer base.

Although the Web site strategy of most businesses is focused on reaching distant customers with products that are easy to ship, this is usually not the goal of most retail bakeries. Most companies focus on attracting customers from the immediate geographic area. By refining or optimizing the elements of your company’s Web site, you’ll capture the attention of that local market and increase sales volume.

According to research by The Kelsey Group and Constat, Inc., 80 percent of U.S. small-to- medium size businesses reported that 75 percent of their buying and/or selling of products and services occurs within a 50-mile radius. Reaching customers within that 50-mile radius can easily be achieved with a web site optimized for local visitors.

A recent survey by comScore reported that the local search is growing at a 20 percent increase year over year. Of the 3,000 survey participants, 60 percent used the Internet as their first choice for locating goods and services in their area. Half of these online users used a major search engine such as Google.com or MSN.com and the other half used a mixture of Internet Yellow Pages and local search sites such as Citysearch.com or Local.com. When they questioned the survey participants about their specific behaviors using the Internet to find local businesses, they discovered that 50 percent of the searchers only contacted one business listed in the search result, and 30 percent contacted between two and five businesses.

Based on this survey, if your web site doesn’t show up in the first page of these search engine results for terms specific to your niche followed by the name of your town, chances are they may take their business elsewhere. Getting your site to appear higher in search engine results is both an art and a science. It involves both on page optimization and off page optimization.

Local SEO Series:
Part 1 of 3: Local Search Engine Optimization - Introduction
Part 2 of 3: Local Search Engine Optimization - On Page Techniques
Part 3 of 3: Local Search Engine Optimization - Off Page Techniques

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I’m always looking for ways to promote my company and our products using the most cost effective means possible. These low cost techniques typically involve the Internet, and today’s tip is no exception. This method for gaining publicity through online press release web sites is free.

Following is a list of 32 sites that I’ve used in the past to distribute our press releases out onto the Internet. This should not be your only method of press release delivery, but it should compliment a more traditional approach of sending press releases to targeted news sources such as trade journals, local newspapers, magazines, and websites relating to the subject of the press release.
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