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1. Website: Google AdWords
How It Will Help You: AdWords helps you target local online customers by setting your pay-per-click ads to appear only when people search a particular city, state or region. There's no minimum spending requirement--your daily budget is up to you.
How It Will Help You: AdWords helps you target local online customers by setting your pay-per-click ads to appear only when people search a particular city, state or region. There's no minimum spending requirement--your daily budget is up to you.
2. Website: Yahoo! Local Listings
How It Will Help You: Local Listings will promote your business to customers looking for information in Yahoo! Local. Choose from three different plans (one is free) to meet your company's needs.
How It Will Help You: Local Listings will promote your business to customers looking for information in Yahoo! Local. Choose from three different plans (one is free) to meet your company's needs.
3. Website: Ask.com's AskCity
How It Will Help You: Ask.com recently launched AskCity, a new local search application that's a one-stop destination for making plans. In one screen, consumers can map a route, make dinner reservations, purchase movie tickets and e-mail plans to others. Pricing for advertising on Ask.com varies.
4. Website: AOL's CityGuide
How It Will Help You: AOL's CityGuide specializes in providing local entertainment information to AOL service members. Advertising with AOL allows marketers to target consumers specifically by lifestyle and market.
How It Will Help You: AOL's CityGuide specializes in providing local entertainment information to AOL service members. Advertising with AOL allows marketers to target consumers specifically by lifestyle and market.
5. Website: Craigslist
How It Will Help You: Craigslist gets an estimated 10 million unique visitors per day. With an online classified ad format organized by region or city, Craigslist connects buyers and sellers in more than 300 communities; for the most part, posting on the site is free.
How It Will Help You: Craigslist gets an estimated 10 million unique visitors per day. With an online classified ad format organized by region or city, Craigslist connects buyers and sellers in more than 300 communities; for the most part, posting on the site is free.
6. Website: MerchantCircle.com
How It Will Help You: This free site offers a local business listing service that allows you to better manage your online reputation and become more visible in search engine results.
How It Will Help You: This free site offers a local business listing service that allows you to better manage your online reputation and become more visible in search engine results.
7. Website: Dotster
How It Will Help You: Dotster is a web domain registration and hosting company offering a local web advertising package called "Local Site Promotion." You set your monthly budget and Dotster will make your ad visible on all the major search engines.
How It Will Help You: Dotster is a web domain registration and hosting company offering a local web advertising package called "Local Site Promotion." You set your monthly budget and Dotster will make your ad visible on all the major search engines.
8. Website: Froogle Local
How It Will Help You: Google's shopping search engine allows users to search for specific products by location. It's a great way for users to find retail stores regardless of whether you use e-commerce.
9. Website:ReachLocal
How It Will Help You: This site provides a central location for businesses to set-up, maintain and track local search advertising campaigns. Pricing varies.
How It Will Help You: This site provides a central location for businesses to set-up, maintain and track local search advertising campaigns. Pricing varies.
10. Website: YellowPages.com
How It Will Help You: YellowPages.com is a large online local directory site featuring city guides and advertising solutions. Basic listings are free.
11. Website: Web.com's MyEzClicks program
How It Will Help You: MyEzClicks lists your business on more than 30 major search engines, including Google, Yahoo! and MSN for a monthly fee.
How It Will Help You: MyEzClicks lists your business on more than 30 major search engines, including Google, Yahoo! and MSN for a monthly fee.
And These:
1. Sponsor the Day
Sponsor the Day isn’t free, but you could get good exposure for a very small bid.
It works like this.. You can bid to be the “official&rduo; sponsor of a calendar day. If you are successful, you get your graphic on the home page for a day, and your promotion pushed to all Sponsor the Day’s followers on Facebook.
2. Google Local
Any land-based business should be on Google Local.
Tightly integrating with Google Maps, Google Local is a great way to get your business to show up on Google searches.
Takes longer to add your business, partly depending on the confirmation method used (phone call is clever, postal is slower), after which you need to wait another couple of weeks typically, but worth doing today.
Another strong & multi-national business-listing site.
HotFrog is a nice simple business listing site (no reviews), active in several countries round the world, including the UK and Australia.
4. Windows Live
The Windows Live Local Listing Center is also free with reasonable reach.
Launched in October 2007, Microsoft’s Windows Live Local Listing Center service allows business owners to add their business information within Live search and Virtual Earth.
5. Best of the Web.com
Offers free advertising for the first 60 days only.
Basically premium search results ad placement, similar to AdWords, the free 60-day trial is worth taking advantage of.
6. Adland Pro
AdlandPro has apparently been offering free and paid advertising services to small businesses since 1996.
Allows you to place free ads in classifieds and community pages, and also in a “Free Traffic Exchange” system, which looks a little riskier.
7. Squidoo
A good number of lenses on the Squidoo network offer the opportunity to add a link to your site, free.
Squidoo gives you simple tools to build your own web pages, and get a share of ad revenue, so it’s also a route to a budget web site where you can promote your products or services. (Also have a useful page about free advertising.)
8. eBay
OK, maybe not free, but don’t overlook finding advertising bargains on eBay
Don’t forget that a lot of people auction promotions on eBay. It’s possible to pick up really cheap mailouts or ad runs, without investing too much time either.
And These:
- 1Start a web presence. Harness the power of the Internet to draw attention to your business. The web is full of free outlets that can potentially reach hundreds of thousands of consumers. Set up a business email and make sure you have at least one logo that you can use consistently in your icons before you get started.
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2Use Twitter. Setting up a Twitter account is free, and it allows you to interact with customers on an immediate and personal level. Nab a handle that's as close to your business' name as possible and tether your business email to the account. Use your logo as your avatar. Follow current customers, family members, friends and other businesses you admire or whose products your business uses. Promote your business in your tweets, but keep it fun, too - host giveaways or give shout outs to loyal customers. Give people a reason to follow your business. See Twitter for Business for more information.
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3Create a Facebook page. Setting up a business page on Facebook is free, and allows you to interact with your customers and other businesses. Host giveaways limited to people who "like" your profile or share one of your posts, and offer special Facebook-only deals via messages to customers who follow your activity. Many businesses forgo creating their own website and simply list their Facebook pages as their business sites. See Facebook for Business for more information.
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4Get on Yelp. Yelp is a website where consumers can review and recommend businesses. You can use your Yelp page to post information and special offers, as well as to gauge how well you're serving your customers. Some business owners respond to bad reviews on Yelp by contacting the Yelp user directly or posting a reply offering to remedy the situation - this allows you to let potential customers know you take their concerns seriously. Learn more at Yelp for Business Owners.
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5Build your Google Places listing. List your business on Google Places so that it will pop up on Google Maps searches, and so people can share reviews and rate your business. Make sure you have a Gmail account specific to your business, then start here. Yahoo! Local hosts a similar service.
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6Have a signature. On every email you send out for your business, have a small 3-4 line signature at the bottom (add this in Settings). Include links to your business' website, Facebook page, Twitter account or whatever other online presence you have.