5 Reasons Why I Recommend Near-User Marketing®
Have you digitally localized your online business? This question is the second most fundamental question that you need to ask yourself after you’ve decided to forge ahead with digital marketing.
Most people would agree that localization is important and it should be obvious to any business owner venturing into digital marketing. Yet, I’ve found that a lot of my clients don’t realize the importance of elevating their platform to include their region, counties, and even states where they do business. And some of them are paying a lot of money for content that’s being recycled to other lawn and landscape companies in their region.
There are many Internet marketing consultants and agencies who know how to effectively localize your lawn care or landscape business. But I personally favor Near-User Marketing®. I’m not trying to sell you a product or service with this blog series. Instead, I want to introduce you to a method that I love because it’ll get Google’s attention, and hopefully, help you move your lawn care or landscape business up through Google’s rankings to convert your prospects into paying customers. Near-User Marketing® is a tool, and here are five reasons why I believe your lawn care or landscape business needs it:
1. It gives your website special consideration on Google: Near-User Marketing® is more specialized than regular SEO. According to Steve Wolgemuth, CEO of YDOP (http://www.ydop.com/), “Near-User Marketing® recognizes the opportunity to intercept with nearby web searchers on Google’s local search engine results.”
2. It gives you an opportunity to deeply engage your fans, followers, peeps, and readers. You can put a call to action at the end of one of your social media posts, such as “Download this coupon for 10% off your next mow,” or “Use this code when you buy this garden product from our website.” You’re letting your audience connect with you on social media and getting them closer to committing to becoming a regular customer.
3. It allows locals to find you. For the past several months, I’ve been preaching that the traditional Yellow Pages ad is dead. Instead, Google and other search engines have taken its place. “Today, about 1/3 of all searches done online have a local intent. That means the searcher is looking for a product, service, or place within traveling distance to them,” Wolgemuth says.
4. It allows you to have a strong online presence in your local area. This not only helps you to be found,” Wolgemuth states. “But increases the chance that they’ll click through to your website, and that they’ll trust that you’re the business to call.”He also points out that there are several things that the garden, lawn care, landscape, hardscape, and casual living businesses have in common:
- Mailers, print ads, radio, billboards, and newspaper ads aren’t as effective as they once were, and you’re probably realizing that you need to shift your perspective when it comes to your business’s digital marketing goals
- Your prospective customers—especially Millennials and GenXers—don’t use the Yellow Pages anymore. You may not like how pre-occupied your youngest prospects are with their iPads, iPhones, etc. But the reality is that this is the medium that you need to harness for them to find you. And you’re behind the times if you’re unwilling to invest in getting your business online. No matter what your opinion is about Facebook or Instagram, they’re effective outlets to targeting your audience.
- Everyone seems to give you a different spin on Internet marketing. You need to be wise when it comes to hiring an Internet marketing consultant or agency, as well as web developers and content creationists, like writers and videographers. I’ve heard that some lawn care and landscape businesses are spending too much money on digital marketing only to find that their service provider doesn’t deliver on the goods or doesn’t know anything about strategic localization.
- “Strong advice: Focus on ‘owning’ your local presence online, including a strong search presence, a great, local website that converts, a great mobile strategy, and a review/reputation management plan,” Wolgemuth says.
5. It’s a program that may help you with your localization efforts: Near-User Marketing® uses all of the digital marketing tools available to get your business put on Google’s map—both figuratively and literally—such as SEO, local search optimization, social media marketing, content marketing, online branding, etc. Yet, it uses different strategies and approaches to get your website online and noticed by the people in your region.
Look, this information isn’t meant to sell a product or service to you. I hope that it helps you make a more educated decision before you’re “wowed” by a slick salesperson at the next green trade show you attend. If anyone promises you that if you pay for their services, they can guarantee that your website will land on Google’s first page, run the other way. There are content marketers out there who will charge you an exorbitant fee only to not deliver on their promises.
How are you using digital marketing and localization to garner more prospects?
As someone who has written for local newspapers, do you consider local newspapers to be a worthwhile advertising investment? Do you think it depends on if the field is wide open, or if there are many competitors in that space? And what if there was the possibility of digital/print advertising to local prospective clients?
Obviously, as an ad sales rep, I have a vested interest in the question, but I’m curious to hear your personal opinion since you have a vested interest in doing what is best for the vendors you serve.
Hi Tim:
IMHO: Newspapers are going the way of the dinosaur. I believe that the newspaper industry has been very slow in embracing the digital movement overall (learned this through conversations and what I’ve read)–hence why I don’t write for local papers anymore. And, therefore, their ads are attracting less readership–especially among Millennials. INMO: Digital is the way to go…even senior citizens are embracing digital with their iPads, iPhones, etc.
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