The Three Step Formula for Creating a Local Search Marketing Description
Download your free PDF Guide for Creating your Local Business Description Click here Local Search Marketing Description-PDF Guide
Step One–Questions and Answers for Local Search Marketing Description
Your first step is to writing one sentence answers to the following four questions. At this point, don’t worry about the length of your answers.
- What does your business primarily do? Don’t answer this like a business card with your “name, rank and serial number.” Answer this question from what your customers receive not what you offer.
- Who is your ideal customer? You need to select a particular group of customers that are the ideal customers for your business. Are they male, female, young, old, customers who want… Don’t be afraid of being too narrow. When you include who is your customer in your business description, some will say, “That’s not me.” That’s ok. When people see your description matches who they are, they will click on your site.
- What problem does your customer want solved? People are motivated to eliminate pain. The better you can describe your customer’s pain, the more likely they click on your site as a solution to their pain.
- If you had one emotional benefit you products or services delivers, what would it be? What’s the biggest result they will get? How will their life be different after experiencing your product or service? In this question you are not looking at your products features, its price, its size, how it works. You are looking for an emotional difference your product makes to the customer’s life. Use the following “So What?” questions below to in find your emotional benefit.
After you write your answer to the last question, I want you to ask an additional question “So what?” Write down your answer. Then with your new answer, ask the question again, “So what?” Do this a third time. As you answer the “so what questions”, you are getting closer to the core benefit you are offering to customers. Here’s an example from my business:
I provide local search marketing services for small business owners
So What? You have less competition on the internet when you use local search marketing.
So What? With less competition, you gain more visibility on the internet.
So What? Local search marketing bring you more visibility from customers who are ready to buy from your business.
Do you see how more customers ready to buy from you strikes an emotional core?
Step Two–Incorporating Key Words into Your Local Search Marketing Description
In my previous post exercise (http://successfulinternettools.com/2010/11/4-steps-to-get-local-search-marketing-key-words/) you identify the ten top key words your customers and search engines use most frequently for internet search for your business. Keywords make your business description search engine friendly. You will take the top three words in your list of ten and incorporate them into the answers you created in Step One of the formula. Be sure to include at least two key words in your answers.
Step Three–Construct Your Local Search Marketing Description
Now it’s time to construct your business description using the answers you generated from Step One and the incorporation of several key words. There are some rules that will make this easier. Keywords should be at the beginning of the sentences. You want to incorporate 2-3 keywords in your description so the search engines find you. Important sentences should precede weaker sentences. Eliminate articles and propositions without losing meaning.
You have between 160-200 characters to create your description. Think of this process as creating a short ad for your business. The type of ad you might find in the classified section of the newspaper. Your ad should provoke people into clicking on your site.
Your description has two audiences. By addressing your customer’s problem with your benefit you speak to your customer audience. By using keywords you speak to the search engines that want key words to match to the visitor’s quires.
Your may need to rework your business description several times to get it down to three short sentences which is approximately 200 characters. If you want to see how your draft is doing with length, use the Microsoft Word tool “Word Count.” This will give you the character count.
Once you complete your description, leave it set for a day or two. Then come back and revise it. Check to see that you have 2-3 key words? Does it say who your ideal customer is and what problem you solve for them? Does it include your top benefit? Does the description read well?
Example
Here’s an example from my business: Local search marketing gets internet visibility for small business owners quickly and easily. Learn how the online local marketing formula will outrank your local competitors.
Conclusion
When you completed this process, you will have a tightly focused description that speaks to your ideal customer, using keywords that promise a benefit to a potential customer. You can always edit your description at a later point to keep it fresh and interesting. Save your business description in a Word document. As we move forward in local search marketing, we will cut and paste this description into a number of local directories, Google Places, Local Yahoo, Bing Local Business Listing.
In the next blog post, I will review the other pieces of information you will include in creating your Google Places, Yahoo Local Business Directory and Bing Business Directory.
I would love to hear your comments on this business description exercise. Make a comment in the Reply section below. Thank you.
