David Mihm’s illustration representing the “local search” relationships makes a great point: this business of local search marketing is complicated!
In my experience, the typical local business owner doesn’t have the time or expertise to effectively manage online advertising investments - as illustrated in the recent Search Engine Land article ”Local Search Complexity = SMB Frustration“.
Not only do you have numerous, complex supplier/directory relationships – but the continued fragmentation which is taking place keeps everyone on their toes! Search Engines, social networking, blogs, directories and Internet Yellow Pages, mobile, vertical and hyper-local sites, etc., etc., etc. Additionally, there are website design issues, analytics to keep up with, billing reconciliation, A/B testing, optimization and many other time-consuming elements. Oh, and by the way – let’s not forget about the day job! It can be challenging, to say the least.
This is the primary reason so many third-party providers have jumped-into the game over the past several years – there is a void to fill; an overwelming demand to hand off this business of Internet marketing to a trusted advisor. Problem is: exactly who can you trust? The local SEO expert? Your website design guy? An out-of-work executive or moonlighting sales rep? The phone company, the local newspaper publisher, your tax software company? All these characters are now in the game!
A word to the wise: be careful with whom you choose to work with! Here are a few quick tips:
- Stick with a well-known firm. Check their history; how long have they been in the Internet marketing business? Is it one of their core competencies?
- Was the term “guarantee” used in their pitch? If so, run for the hills!
- Are they charging you for free services like Google Maps, or worse yet – taking “credit” for those leads/clicks?
- Is there a monthly recurring management fee? And if so, is it based on a percent of your overall budget? Hmmmm - could be a conflict of interest…
- Are they willing to provide full transparency and reporting?
- Are testimonials, references or case-studies from happy clients available?
Posted by Rich H 
