When it comes to local marketing and research BIA / Kelsey has got you covered on every front. And, they just wrapped up the 3-day ILM (Interactive Local Media) conference in San Francisco, California yesterday. This article is intended to capture the highlights as it relates to small business and local search news and prognostications.
Some 3-day highlights:
- Some of SMB’s biggest competitors are coming from markets that are not visible.
- Partnerships are on the rise, with some companies teaming up with traditional enemies these days (ClearChannel and Cumulus, for example).
- What do SMB’s consider a conversion? Calls and referrals are just the beginning, with application downloads become the next big thing.
- Differentiating quality leads from vanilla leads is the next level also.
- Being “average” at a bunch of different things means you are doomed to fail in today’s market, you must stand out.
- Self-serve is really moving to the front of SMB’s minds.
SMB’s think best quality leads come from:
- 64% phone calls
- 54% website contacts
- 42% in-person visits
- 28% Facebook responses
We all know mobile marketing is on the rise, here are some quick facts given by Gillian Heltai, senior director at comScore
- One-third of consumers own a smartphone
- 77% have GPS on their mobile device
- 25% of mobile users conduct searches on their phone, making search is the top activity on mobile browsers
- 40% of all mobile users access local content, while 75% of smartphone users access local content
- Smartphone users are scanning QR codes primarily from print media – a trend that is getting retailers attention
- The larger trend is going to be away from “pull” to “push” model.
- Quality of mobile ads will catch up to the quality of apps. Ad prices will drop and higher rates will be in cost-per-action.
- Typical SMB’s do not understand CTR, CPC, any of the acronyms. But when the phone rings, they know what to do.
- 6-8% of all searches on Google are Mobile AND Local.
- The mobile version of the typical SMB website is AWFUL.
About Dan DeRoeck
Dan DeRoeck is an SEO [search engine optimization] and SEM [search engine marketing] consultant that assists businesses of all sizes attain a strong Internet presence. His SEO philosophy is to build a strong organic traffic base using methods that stand the test of time, leveraging strong content with powerful SEO methods. User engagement is at the heart of his strategy, using Web Analytics to continually measure and improve position for his clients.
Related posts:
3 Responses to BIA / Kelsey Group ILM West 2011 Recap
Leave a Reply
Those are some surprising statistics cited in that chart. The most eye opening one is that 36 percent of web sites are just one page. This makes me wonder if that number might be a bit deceptive. It would lead you to believe that of the 36 of web sites, the developer simply lacks the time to continue to build the web site or lacks the commitment to continue to grow the web site with content. However, it is possible that the 36 percent represents in part, articles published for the purpose of drawing traffic or inciting reader participation through dialogue. So the statistic might tell you that the quality of web sites is lacking, but that would not be the case if a good number of these one page sites are articles.
Let me get this straight. Regarding SMB’s think best quality leads coming from 64 percent of phone calls. Am I to take this as meaning that the best leads still come from telephone calls – as in cold calling? If I understood that correctly, this would go against what many internet marketers have been preaching which is that online lead generation from persons who have actively signed up for a news letter or some other offer are more receptive than a cold call. The thinking is that when you call a person back, one who responded to a squeeze page web form, those persons will respond to you as if they already know you because they remember visiting your web site recently. So unless I misunderstood, I am now a bit befuddled.
I still do not own a smart phone only because I can barely afford one. I do have cellular service, but I use a standard mobile phone. As a result, I have been out of touch with all the technology that exists with applications and other features you get with the high end mobile devices. It wasn’t until I started researching mobile marketing, which includes this blog as part of that research, I began to realize the purview of mobile technology and all the methods which are available and which you can harness in orer to reach a mass market of mobile users. So I am thankful for these statistics which further reinforce my initial findings.