Is Your Company Online?
Posted by admin on February 20, 2012 under Marketing | 
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Keeping in line with the SEO blog published a few days ago, is the idea your moving company or storage facility can easily be found online. Internet search volume continues to grow year over year and all of the Search Engine giants spend enormous amounts of time, money and manpower to make sure they are retrieving the best results possible for consumers.
People are using the internet to become better informed, price savvy and social and thus have become less impulsive when purchasing products and services. The internet isn’t a place just for geeks anymore, it is the first place people go to research and share ideas. With the vast amount of information readily available people can pick and choose which sources to rely on and which sources to ignore. With such a wide variety of places to find information what is your moving company supposed to do?
It is imperative you have a wide-ranging marketing strategy because if consumers are not finding your moving or storage company they are finding your competitors. More and more companies are shifting their marketing dollars away from traditional marketing such as TV, radio and the Yellow Pages and are bringing more of their marketing budget to the online arena.
We suggest you start thinking more about online advertising and SEO. There are several options which we listed below:
Get with Industry Aggregators: Companies such as Self Storage Finders, 123movers and MoversCorp.com all understand what it takes to rank in the SERP’s and have been doing so for years. These companies are leaders in their industries and will bring in more rentals than you would have by yourself.
Be Social: Be sure to create a Facebook, Twitter, Merchant Circle, LinkedIn and Google Plus page and update them regularly.
Start a Blog: Writing a blog can earn you trust and a good reputation in the industry as well as provide you with linking opportunities.
Claim your Local Listings: Google, Yahoo! and Bing all have Local Listings for businesses and all are FREE to claim and maintain. If you are not doing this yet, stop reading this now and sign up. These are essential if you want to be included in the Maps.
Claim your Free Listings: Search for your company on any of the Search Engines and claim all of your listings. Be sure to double check the phone numbers and addresses as these are also important for the local maps.
Connect in Your Community: Once you gain trust from companies in your community you will probably begin blogging about them and they will do the same for you. This is an easy way to get targeted local links.
Hire an SEO Company: If you do not possess the know how or have the funds to hire a full time person to run your SEO you should consider hiring an SEO company. There are plenty of good companies out there who know the ins and outs of what needs to be done daily and will guide you along. Most will probably want a 6 month commitment but the results should be worth it.
Consider Yellow Pages: The Yellow Pages are struggling and many of you have probably reduced the size of your ad or pulled it all together. For some, the Yellow Pages are still a viable option. Many small town storage facilities and moving companies still use the YP and use it effectively. Be sure to calculate your ROI in order to get the true value for your buck.
Will TV/Radio work for you?: Similar to the YP, TV and radio ads have been struggling. The storage industry had a debate on the effectiveness of TV ads. As long as you can justify the cost and have a positive ROI, any advertising/marketing should be considered for your company.
These are some of the most important things we see working online right now. When people search they want to find the most relevant, reputable company which is local to them. If they are finding you instead of your competitors your business will reap the benefits. A forward thinking marketing strategy will be a crucial part for your storage facility and moving company to have online success.