SMB Must-Haves in 2011
Make sure you stay on top of Google Places, Facebook and Twitter, and monitoring and tracking this year.

Make sure you stay on top of Google Places, Facebook and Twitter, and monitoring and tracking this year.
How to parse out responsibilities for social media and set up a measurement dashboard for comparing local and national results.
How to develop a strategic plan that includes Web site management, paid, organic and mobile search, display ads, Internet yellow pages, local listing feeds, and user-generated content.
Consumers are increasingly relying on smartphones and other mobile devices to select local businesses and brands. Consider these trends.
A study identifies how consumers use mobile, Google Maps, ratings, reviews, and Internet yellow pages to obtain information about local businesses.
Even though the seasons are changing, the changes are never very drastic. Change happens over a period of time. The same holds true for your local search program.
Users and advertisers are winning as the local search space innovates and evolves. As content continues to grow, we're seeing a major shift in how consumers are utilizing these resources.
Consumers love the cost savings of mobile coupons. Marketers love their many benefits. Mobile coupons are an inexpensive way to take advantage of what works in mobile marketing today.
It's way too early to say Bing is a success, but initial trials are favorable. Where Bing could shine is in local search, a relatively untapped revenue source and a fragmented marketplace.
Why are local listings important? It's all about consumer usage. With so many consumers seeking local listing information, it's vital that advertisers with local entities proactively manage and improve their listings' accuracy to help gain...
The Twitter phenomenon is exploding, so is it time for local marketers to embrace Twitter? Like most new/emerging platforms, it depends on your business category.
Today's economic environment forces all of us to do more with the same or less. The way to get more sales out of lead-gen efforts is by increasing the conversion rate with fast and thorough follow-up.
As a VP of advertising or CMO, where do you start and end your exploration for communication integration and efficiency? Let's start with the basics and move toward the complex to address the questions.
What tactics and best practices can improve our local search campaigns in these challenging times? Local search marketing efforts focus around ensuring you're the one chosen when the question of "where to buy" arises.
Over the past year, I've been in numerous meetings with advertisers, agencies, and online media vendors, and I'm often amazed at the confusion surrounding how local search campaign analytics are reported, and sometimes twisted, to create a desired...
Consumer usage of ratings and reviews continues to grow, as well as their importance to everyday local business information. Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most effective ways to sell a product/service, and that's exactly what consumer...
The accountability of online marketing is only as good as the analytics an advertiser employs. Tracking conversions -- both online and offline -- can be tricky, but it is an important part of any online marketing program, especially for businesses...
Clients often ask where they should spend their marketing dollars: online or offline, search or display? The problem with these questions: they assume there's one or only a few sources for all local sales leads. The question isn't "either/or,"...
Local SEO is a must for businesses that sell products locally to a specified geographical area. The channels consumers are using to search are changing. Is your marketing strategy adapting?
The volume of local searches continues growing, which means national-level search advertisers must develop strategic plans for incorporating local search into their national search programs. The benefit: lower cost leads with higher conversation...