Using Wordpress for Small Business Website
This is something I have been wanting to comment on for a while. I really like Wordpress- its ease of setup, cool widgets, tons of templates available, and the amazing amount of SEO components you can employ with it, make it a no brainer for small business.
If you are a small business and want to “run” your own website, I would recommend using wordpress. When I discuss this with clients, I get a lot of curious looks. Wordpress is simply a content management system (CMS). Now there are many options out there for CMS, so if Wordpress is not your cup of tea, take a look at some of the other options.
The idea of using Wordpress for a small business site is nothing new. A few other articles on the subject are:
Don Campbell’s Why Use Wordpress to Power Your Small Business Website and then a case study he report on.
Tim Conley’s 11 Reasons To Use Wordpress For Your Business Website and his video tutorial.
If you read these articles, you should come away with the notion that using Wordpress can help you control your website more and help with your local search marketing. Bottom line.
I have used wordpress to build a number of sites for local small business, with good results. The main reason I have used it is so that. the small business owner can control his content. Using a CMS, definitely allows a small business owner with little web experience the ability to add, edit, delete information quickly and easily.
Another aspect that I like about using wordpress, it allows the visitor to leave a comment, question, rave, etc for the small business. Interacting with your visitors/customers/clients is a very important component in doing business here in 2009 and beyond.
The SEO aspect of wordpress is great. There are so many components that one can employ to help the site with search engine visibility, geotargeting, keywords, you name it.
A word of caution, do not think that if you build/use wordpress for your site, it will magically appear #1 in Google. You need to make sure you set it up and use it properly! I can get you started off on the right foot but it is your responsiblity to follow up but adding content, responding to comments, questions, adding links etc. It take a little bit of time but as I always say, time spent marketing online is well worth it!
Mobile Coupons – 8Coupons
I recently got word from 8Coupons.com that their service is going nationwide. You can the press release on their blog here.
“When a user visits 8coupons.com, the map on the homepage will automatically populate the Top 8 most popular deals based on his or her IP address. This ensures that anyone who visits the site will see the deals that are most relevant to them specifically. The Top 8 deals will change dynamically as the user moves the map around to different locations, zooms in on a specific street, or narrows down the deals by sub-categories such as restaurants, entertainment, beauty & spas, services and shopping.”
From reviewing their website, it looks to be a pretty cool service. I checked for coupons in my neck of the woods and really did not see any, so I am assuming it will take some time to filter down to the small markets.
Greg Sterling also commented about 8coupons on his site, so you might want to check it out. Greg did say (and I agree) “Coupons, wither mobile or online only, are extremely popular and successful as a marketing tool with consumers. It’s also one of the few forms of mobile advertising that consumers are highly receptive to.”
ILM 09- In the Books
Well ILM09 is in the books. This year I was not able to attend but from what I have seen and read, it looked like an awesome meeting. Over the next few days, I hope to review over some of the presentations and info provided and give you some recaps. In the meantime, you need to check Andrew Shotland’s site LocalSEOGuide.com or search #ILM09 on Twitter.
Here are some of Andrew’s articles:
NBC Everywhere – Brian Buchwald
Venture Capital Funding for Local Search
Kelsey Group Local Media Forecast
Local SEO Tools, Tricks & Strategies
Guiaslocal.com – Bilingual Local Directory
Today we have an interview with George Ramos, CEO and Founder of Guías Local, Inc.
Q. What is guiaslocal.com?
A. GuiasLocal.com is a new, non-yellow page, bilingual start-up that connects consumers to major U.S. cities and millions of businesses. Guias Local translated in English means “Local Guides” (a logical name for Hispanics and search algorithm when searching locally). The primary language of GuiasLocal.com is Spanish with a secondary language in English. Currently GuiasLocal.com, is the largest bilingual, non-yellow page in the United States.
Q. What is its mission?
A. Our mission is to change Local search and offer Hispanics a new way to search. With so many English language local search companies in the mix, we feel we can add value to an emerging market.
Q. You have just gotten beta in El Paso, what is the timeline for other cities?
A. On Monday, December 7th, we will be launching our second version of Beta for El Paso, based on feedback from consumers and businesses. This version offers more in regards to search and features.
Our full launch of our 200 major U.S. cities is scheduled for early 2010. This version will include additional enhancements to GuiasLocal.com including white labels, private labels, and mobile versions. We will be adding additional cities growing quickly.
Q. Are you looking at producing any iPhone or Blackberry mobile apps or site for the directory?
A. Mobile versions of GuiasLocal.com are currently in development. As more Hispanics adapt to mobile applications faster than non-Hispanics, mobile apps are a top priority for GuiasLocal.com. Our mobile versions will offer easy navigation and a fast search.
Q. Are there any other bilingual local search directories out there?
A. There are no other bilingual, non yellow page, nationwide, local searches in the U.S. There is a yellow page company named Seccion Amarilla Usa, a Telmex company, which offers results in two languages. Yellow page companies tend to focus on print and not on the Internet or mobile applications. Our enhanced version of GuiasLocal.com will offer our consumers an easy to use local search in two languages as well, GuiasLocal.com offers businesses the opportunity to reach consumers with various levels of advertising available at a significantly reduced rate as compared to yellow page companies.
Q. Why should small business be concerned with bilingual listings?
A. Hispanics are the largest growing minority in the United States. As well, given that almost half of Hispanics speak only Spanish at home, products that offer easy directions and a bilingual user interface will gain faster adoption. What’s more, one-third of Hispanics feel that Spanish-language Web sites enhance their user experience — a clear message for online retailers and marketers. Why not offer the consumer the opportunity to search in both languages? GuiasLocal.com offers Hispanics a choice, their choice of which language to search in.
Q. How can a business get listed in your directory?
A. Businesses can either contact GuiasLocal.com directly to place their business in our search. Upon launch, we will offer a business submission where the business can add all of their information via GuiasLocal.com as well as manage their listing. This will be available in early 2010 with our full launch.
Q. Where do you see local search marketing going in the next year or so?
A. Local search marketing is growing at a rate of 17 percent according to Forrester Research. GuiasLocal.com knows the true value is in becoming a brand and an information provider not just a local search. We are currently working on this with: Private label (powered by GuiasLocal.com), Apps, API’s, licensing, desktop, mobile, and business packages.
Q. Anything else you would like to add?
A. We recently added dotcom veteran, Tom Herman, to our board who has been guiding GuiasLocal.com strategically in our money raising efforts. You may remember Tom from the movie, Startup.com. The film followed e-commerce website govWorks.com and its founders, Tom and Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, from 1999-2000 as the Internet bubble was bursting. Under their leadership, govWorks raised $60 million in venture financing from firms such as the Mayfield Fund, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company, the New York City Investment Fund, Hearst Corporation, Sapient Corporation and Vignette Corporation. Tom brings over 15 years of start-up experience leading technical strategy, software architecture, fund raising and mergers and acquisitions of technical assets.
Twitter: We are the most followed Hispanic brand on Twitter World Wide.
–Thanks for that info George on Guiaslocal.com. Look forward to seeing how your site grows and develops.
Running Your Small Business Online
With the state of the economy today, what can a small business do to help itself? Marketing online is definitely one thing, I would recommend. LOL Over the last few months, I have been pulling together articles on the subject and over the next few posts, I will be reviewing and pulling together those that are worth your time to read.
Guide to Resources for Starting a Business by Daniel Kehrer provides a nice overview of resources needed to start a business. Now if you already have a business, this could be a nice reminder of what is out there. Remember we alll need help now and then.
On the aspect of running an online business:
If I Were Launching a New Small Biz Web Site Today is a great article by Matt McGee. Matt does not discuss the issues involved in setting up a website…
“Either way, the hard work is only beginning when your web site is done. That’s when the marketing and promotion kicks in. How would you do that? How would you spread the word about your new small business and web site?”
Matt provides a 3 month overview of what to do online to market your business. Matt provides ideas, examples, and estimate of costs. Overall it is a great article for your review. Matt sums it up nicely when he states,
“Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for small business marketing”
Costs and fees are very important to the small business owner. As you surf the web, you will find that costs/fees will vary dramatically from site to site. Matt McGee put together another great article Small Business SEO: Costs, Expectations & Realities . This should be a must read for everyone. Matt essentially created a “part 2″ to the original article that appeared on Small Biz Trends, Practices of Top SEO Companies for Small Businesses.
Matt works to provide answers to the questions, “But what about the cost of small business SEO? What should a small business expect to pay when hiring an SEO consultant?”
Costs for SEO can vary but it is important to have a basic idea on what you are looking at.
Final thoughts: Hanan Lifshitz, CEO at Palore worte a nice article back in August, What Is The Potential For Growth In SMB Online Marketing? Hanon concludes, “the answer is a resounding “Yes”, and further, the growth opportunity in online marketing for SMBs is significant, and “No”, the market is still far from being saturated.”
I agree with Hanan, there are plenty of opportunities for small business to advertise online and to help spread the word about their business or service, They simply need to get off their butts and do it!
Interactive Local Media 2009
Just wanted to remind folks that in two weeks, ILM09 or Interactive Local Media 2009 put on by the Kelsey/BIA group will be going on in LA. Looks to be a great meeting.
“ILM:09 focuses on the rapid innovation in local online, search and mobile – the Web’s “last frontier.” BIA/ Kelsey projects that these areas will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue.”
Check out the:
Right now it does not look like I will be able to attend 
I will cover what I can from here. If you want to learn more about local search marketing, this is the conference to attend.
Happy Thanksgiving
Just want to wish all of our US readers a happy and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday. Despite all of the difficulties, we have a lot to be thankful for. 
