LSB Marketing are local search marketing & affordable web design experts.
Local search marketing on the internet can provide local and small businesses with a significant advantage over their competitors. It can also close that gap with those that have already sought that advantage. However, many small businesses in Ireland believe having a website or even business directory listings is beyond their capability & their budget. LSB Marketing provides these businesses with professional online marketing solutions & web design services at an affordable price, helping Irish businesses to prosper in the digital age.
Having a well designed & search optimised website, along with properly submitted online directory listings, firstly allows businesses to be found by prospective customers. It enables business owners to present themselves to their customers, new & existing, as local experts in their chosen field. It also displays their commitment to providing the quality goods and services that those customers require.
You only ever get the chance to make one first impression.
You only ever get the chance to make one first impression & in an ever more competitive marketplace, that impression is more important than ever. With 80% of smartphone users carrying out local research using their phones, that first impression is increasingly being made via the internet.
Window shopping? Traditional paper directories like Golden Pages? The internet is taking over as the go to way for people to browse for goods/services & to consider which business to give their custom. Not having a website or online directory listings means that customers are not even considering you as an option & that you are losing customers to their competitors. Having a poorly designed & optimised website may also have the same result, as you are quickly dismissed from consideration.
If small businesses want to stay competitive, then they need to recognise the importance of local search marketing & plan accordingly. People are increasingly relying on Google & online business directories such as Yelp to discover local goods and services in their area. If you aren’t among their results, then you will not gain the amount of new business that you could be.
Just How important is the web to local & small businesses?
So just how important is an online presence to a business? We know how important word of mouth is to local businesses, often cited as the best source of new customers. A recent digital impact survey carried out by Vistaprint shows that online research has become just as crucial & it continues to grow in importance.
Of the 2,000 consumers that responded to their survey, 36% reported that they discovered new businesses through online research. 35% said they relied on word of mouth. Of primary importance to customers was information regarding product/service information, opening hours and address/contact details.
The survey also revealed that:
- 32% of people shop at small/local businesses at least once a week
- 34% are unlikely to buy from a business that doesn’t have a website
- 45% would reject a business that has a poorly designed website
- 75% rate online reviews as important when making a purchasing decision
- 25% discover new businesses through social media
The survey results highlight how vital it is for local & small businesses to have a strong local search marketing strategy that meets their needs. Properly designing and optimising a website, along with correctly submitting to business directories, is a major part of that strategy. This is why LSB Marketing is the ideal partner for local and small businesses in Ireland.
LSB Marketing is an online marketing services provider of local search and affordable web design solutions. Based in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, we help local & small businesses to find new customers by increasing their online presence, as well as their organic and local search rankings.