Since so many customers do a search of local business before visiting or calling — and this trend is accelerating with the growth of smartphones — it’s become *essential* to have a location online. Even if it consists of nothing more than What You Offer, some prices or a FAQ, and contact information, you *must* be there, because to the searchers, if they can’t find you … you just don’t exist.

The Affordable Websites service is something I worked out that will do just that.

Get a Website for $99, 3-Day Turnaround

It’s just that simple. Check out WebNova Affordable Websites, and share it with your friends.

And, for those people who need a simple solution like this, I also created a simple one-page summary that describes what works today in online marketing.

Read it here:

Marketing Online on One Page

Most people search online, even when they’re looking for a LOCAL business … especially with the ongoing tidal wave of smartphone use.

Smartphone Consumers Search a Lot

Statistics from the Google report “The Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Users,” 2011:

• 95% of smartphone users have searched for local information
• 61% of users call a business after searching …
• … and 59% visit the location
• 90% of these people act within 24 hours

The Three Waves of Google

Google, and other search engines have generally gone through three modes of operation, all with the intent of delivering up to the searchers the information that’s most likely to satisfy –

1. In the beginning, google simply used title, keywords and meta description .. but it was subject to abuse, and became completely unreliable as the sharpsters got wise and gamed the system
2. Then google began to rely upon inbound links, thinking that if external sites thought the current site was important, then that was a ‘vote’ and this worked until sharpsters got smarter and smarter about how to game the system by manipulating external sites
3. And in 2011, and in 2012, google is turning toward two other things as a way of gathering votes, on the expectation that these new ‘vote-gathering’ approaches will be harder to manipulate

The Increase of Mobile Phones

Right now, there are about 1.25 billion computers in the world … and 3 billion cellphones. And the trend within the cellphone users is to migrate overwhelmingly to smartphones. By 2013 there will be more people searching via smartphone than via normal desktops and laptops. (Sources: Gartner, 2010; Google Internal Data, 2011; Cisco, 2011)

Since Google’s prime directive is to make happy the searchers, Google is already rewarding folks who have a specialized mobile site, and penalizing those who don’t. People who buy Google’s ‘adwords’ advertising now pay less for their clicks if they have a mobile site, and pay more for their clicks when they don’t. And you can bet your bootie that search results are working the same way … ESPECIALLY google’s mobile search results, which is growing in importance every single day.

The Increase of Social Marketing

As described in my book (“Marketing Online, Clear and Simple,” available on Amazon), making money using the internet only happens when three essential steps are done.

If you are a local business marketing online, here are the essential steps: First is having a location online, a website. Second is some METHOD of engaging visitors in a conversation … otherwise, statistics tell us they visit once, and then never ever return again. And third is a METHOD of increasing traffic to the site.

Guess what?

Social sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Digg, and Redit all provide a METHOD of engaging visitors into a conversation, and they all provide a METHOD of increasing traffic to your site.

And social site usage is booming.

The Rise of Local-Business Online Methods

Most local business owners are too busy handling the alligators of daily operation to engage in the rather long and changing learning curve of effectively learning online methods that actually work. Some of them “get a website” but never do the other two essential steps, and then wonder why “the website” doesn’t make a dime.

However, this is going to shift a lot in 2012.

The increase in smartphone usage will provide more local-business searches. The increase in social marketing, including people who run local businesses, and the local “chatter” from their customers … will increase search methods leading to greater foot-traffic into local businesses.

Further, the hijacking of first page search results by online sharpsters will become more difficult, and less profitable. That business model usually amounts to the sharpster seizing google results with the intent of grabbing the results, and then sending the buyer to the seller’s website, while extracting some profit in doing so. That model will become more difficult.

However, the “local” searches for a local business marketing online, such as “divorce attorney in pittsburgh,” will still be effective, and the rise in smartphone searches will make this kind of search more effective. Google development of Google places and local search results will support the accuracy of this kind of search.

The Result: A Boom for Local Businesses

And this represents two opportunities …

• If you are a local business, it will be worth your while to (a) get an effective website, (b) create a conversation system, (c) engineer a traffic-building system.
• If you are an online consultant or web-builder or marketing expert, you will most help your clients with their local business marketing online if you can help them with the “Three Step Marketing” Formula (described in my book), and especially with traffic and promotions using a mobile site, a facebook business page, and the new QR-Codes to snag even more smartphone users.

Is this only for big businesses? Or folks with lots of money?

Not really. Sure, big businesses will have web-gurus, but that’s unchanged from the past, and LOCAL searches won’t be much impacted. Local businesses will either have more money and less time to spend, like attorneys and doctors and hardware stores, and they can hire out the work … or they’ll be smaller and have less money and more time for smoozing on Facebook, like a musician and a hair salon and a local coffee house.

Need Help with your Local Business?

Contact me for a free 15-minute Discovery Session.

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When surfing with your mobile phone, just go to CopyDragon.com as usual. Our website will immediately know that you’re using a mobile device, and route you to an optimized website that’s easier to navigate on the phone.

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Note to google (only):  the CopyDragon webwriter’s mobile site is located at http://copydragon.com/mob/

If you want to attract customers, the answer’s a no-brainer.

Websites are perhaps the most overlooked vehicle of advertising for local, owner-operated businesses. Yes, every retailer needs one. Every dentist, lawyer, accountant and minister needs one. Every café, restaurant, coffee shop and nightclub needs one. Every wholesale supply company needs one.

I’m not suggesting that all these businesses need to actually transact business online. I’m only saying that everyone listed in yesterday’s Yellow Pages needs to also be available on the internet today–it’s where your customers expect to find you.

If you’re thinking you might not be able to afford putting up a website, think again. For a simple website, a budget of $2,000 to $5,000 for construction and $100 to $400 for monthly maintenance and updates should cover it. Robust sites with streaming video, opt-in subscriber functions and other, more complicated features can run between $12,000 and $20,000 for construction and $500 to $2,000 for monthly maintenance and updates.

How a Website Helps a Local Business

Properly constructed, a website allows your prospects to gather the information they need from the privacy of their own computer monitors. What are the questions your salespeople answer virtually every day? And how, exactly, would your best salesperson phrase those answers on his or her best day? This is the information that needs to be available 24/7 on your site.

Think of your site as a relationship deepener, a half step between your advertising and your front door. Do you suppose it’s easier to convince customers to visit your web site or to convince them to get in their car, drive to your store, park that car and walk in your door?

The internet is heaven on earth for the 49 percent of our population who are introverted. That’s because introverts strongly prefer to gather information anonymously. They’re unlikely to dial your phone number, except as a last resort. Even more unlikely is that they’ll choose to walk into your store and engage a salesperson. Introverts aren’t necessarily shy–they simply like to gather all the facts before they put themselves in a position where they’ll likely be asked to answer questions. Forty-nine percent of your customers strongly prefer to know what they’re coming to buy before they walk in your door. And even the extroverted 51 percent of your target market will appreciate an informative site that functions as an expert salesperson during all those hours you’re not open for business.

Don’t think for a moment that your customers aren’t already online. Several times a month, I speak to groups of at least several hundred people. And I always ask, “How many of you have used a search engine within the past seven days to research a product or service that you were considering purchasing?” I raise my own hand as soon as the question is finished. The hands raised in response have never been less than 85 to 90 percent of the crowd.

The most interesting of these situations happened about a year ago in Las Vegas. I was the keynote speaker for a trade organization whose 1,600 delegates had been gathered from around the world. I was there to deliver a speech on the keys to more effective advertising. The trade organization published a full-color magazine for their members, and prior to this conference, the executive council had been complaining to me privately about the high cost of publishing and shipping that magazine. I was waiting offstage while the emcee introduced me when the chairman leaned over and whispered, “Almost all our membership is over 55 years of age, so you probably don’t want to mention the internet.” Just then, the emcee finished his jabber and barked, “Roy H. Williams!” I opened my mouth and asked this roomful of oldsters, “How many of you have used a search engine within the past seven days to research a product or service that you were considering purchasing?” You guessed it, about 95 percent.

I think maybe that chairman is still standing offstage with his mouth open.

Roy William’s is Entrepreneur.com’s “Advertising” columnist and the founder and president of international ad agency Wizard of Ads. Roy is also the author of numerous books on improving your advertising efforts, includingThe Wizard of Ads and Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads.

In many cases, the deal is … your business either adapts … or dies. I’ve had a couple of businesses die, where I failed to find a way to adapt to the changing market. I’ve felt the pain, first hand.

The search behemoth, Google, has published an interesting view about marketing. I’d never heard of this before. It’s called the “Zero Moment of Truth.” This idea came from Proctor & Gamble, the soap barons, who know a thing or two about marketing. They apparently came up with this idea in 2005.

Here’s what the “Zero Moment of Truth” means …

What is the Zero Moment of Truth?

This phrase is based on the idea of the first moment of truth (FMOT) which is when a consumer comes across a shelf full of product and makes the decision on which to buy.

In that year, in a forward to a book called Lovemarks, the CEO of Procter & Gamble, A. G. Lafley said this:

“The best brands consistently win two moments of truth.

“The first moment occurs at the store shelf, when a consumer decides whether to buy one brand or another.

“The second occurs at home, when she uses the brand — and is delighted, or isn’t.”

I Can Relate. Can You?

I’ve had this experience. The moment at the store. And then the moment at home.

And I’ve talked to my customers, in a number of businesses I’ve run over the last 40 years. And I’ve heard them report these same moments.

Do you relate?

Evolution Today: What’s Changed?

Well, something has changed. The fact is, in many cases, I don’t go wandering down the aisles of the store. At least, that’s not my *first* action. In many cases, my first action is … searching online.

Have *you* had this experience? Searching online before visiting the store? Or searching online before buying online?

I’ll bet big money you’ve had this experience.

What Does This Tell Us?

It tells us that there’s a moment *before* the so-called “First Moment of Truth!”

It’s telling us about a new critical moment of decision. Google claims — and I believe them — that this happens before consumers even get into the store. Well, doh! Yup. Observation confirms this claim.

And whether you sell services or some product, local or online — a roofing contractor or an Amazon author selling books or a barber in your town or a traveling hypnotherapist — in many cases, your customers’ first impression — and quite possibly their final decision — will be made in this Zero Moment of Truth.

Want help? CopyDragon can Help

Want to take ownership of that Moment?

Or rather do nothing, and just let some competitor have it?

It’s up to you.

But if you want to have more control over your own destiny, over the forward movement of your business, both for greater prosperity and for ensuring better survival, then contact me for a free 15-minute Discovery Session.

Together, let’s see what can open up for you.

– Arthur

PS:  Watch for the next article. I’ve got a great video which illustrates this concept, OK?

One thing different about working with CopyDragon webwriters is that we will cover the above methods, so that you wind up with much more than a website, and the website you have is then intelligently designed to advance your business, and help give you the life that you want.

And once we’ve done the above things, it’s fairly easy to create a website with a look, and with content, that your customers will automatically like! They won’t know why, but they’ll like it!

Three-Part Power-Marketing on the Internet

Overall, in most cases, a complete and powerful internet marketing campaign has these three parts –

1. 1) You create a website that automatically appeals to your customer. This is “your corner of the internet” and gives you a place to operate. It’s like renting a store if you’re going to sell hardware. You need a place where you can offer your products and services. In this case, it’s on the internet, on your website.
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2. At some later time, you are wise to add Email Capture and follow up marketing.This is the most powerful method of getting more sales available today on the internet. It’s simply because a person who sees your website once and goes away has low odds of buying. But we know (from the Direct Marketing Association of New York) that the average customer buys after 7 to 9 “touches.” Getting the visitor’s agreement that you can send email, and sending 9 to 20 automatic follow-up emails which provide helpful things is a simple way to keep that person thinking about you — and thinking more and more highly of you — and after 7 to 9 of these communications, lots more people buy. And … once set up, the system is completely automatic.
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3. For this to work, you must have “traffic,” which means people coming to your website. There are two ways to get traffic, and many people don’t consider this carefully. The first method is:  Make Google know what you are about so that when people search for you, Google sends them to your site.  The second method is:  You don’t have to wait for Google, because *you* can send people to your website, in a hundred different ways. We’ll go over how these two methods work.

So the first, and most important step, if you want to use the power of the internet to boost your business, is to get yourself a website that works well, that appeals to your target customer. This step has to be done first, for everything else to happen, and so it’s the most important step, to be done as soon as possible. (After thinking about your life and business, of course.)

CopyDragon versus Web-Designers

Generally, a web designer would make a custom site for $3000-$5000, but using WordPress and the methods I’ve developed over many years, working with you we can create your site for $1100-$1700, and this website will work much better than the web-designer’s site and so will actually help your business grow, because we will build it smart, and as an integrated, powerful part of your overall marketing plan.

If you want to see more of the site we’ve built, visit the Work Samples page.

Remember, if you want to build your own site, you can. If you want to enlist a techy friend, you can. If you want to hire a web-designer, you can. And these three paths will give you a website. Absolutely a website.

But, if you want a website that actually helps your business, helps to bring you income, helps to give you the life you want to have, then contact CopyDragon webwriters. We’ve helped others. We can help you.

Click Here to Contact Us Now

Please. Do NOT just jump automatically into building a website. Think first.

When you think about your business, you should always consider your LIFE first, and picture completely the exact life you want to have. (Otherwise you may create a business which interferes with the life you want!)

When that is clear, next you want to completely describe your business, in the fullness of time, which will give you exactly that life. You describe this business completely. (For example, if you don’t like to travel, don’t describe a business requiring travel.)

Once you’ve completely defined this business, we’re in good position to consider your overall marketing plan, your target customer, and what content to put on the website. (That, is assuming that a website fits with your business; it often does, but not in every single case. I have a friend who raises hay on his land and sells it every year. He sells all he grows. He doesn’t need a website!)

Be sure to see How to Build a Website Part Three, the Three Key Components of Powerful Internet Marketing Today.

Every website sits on a server somewhere, operated by a company usually called an “I. S. P.” (Internet Service Provider). Because CopyDragon webwriters are in the internet business, we also have servers of this kind, although we don’t normally provide hosting services to the public at large. (We prefer to keep our servers private, used only by people we know.)

There are many ways to build a website. (I’ve built around 200, since around 1996, using over a dozen ways of building.) As best I can tell, the best way to build a website these days is to use a WordPress website.

The WordPress method was originally developed for blogs, but now is used for normal sites as well as blogs. I have 30-50 websites, and over a dozen client websites, and I now use WordPress to build every one of them.

The main three advantages of WordPress are:

1. The website owner can easily make changes to any page, can quickly add an article, can easily upload a picture, and everything on the site adjusts itself and that new page or new article or new picture becomes part of the website with one click.This means you’re not the hostage of your web developer. You can back up the entire site to your own computer, and you could at any time move the entire site to a different ISP, a different location. You’re in control. (And it saves money, too.)
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2. The WordPress organization has a complete staff, who (for free) make updates to block hackers. This means we don’t have to work, work, work on security. (This means your site is safer, and it saves money, too.)
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3. Because WordPress was the winner of the “blog software wars,” there is a huge amount of plug-in things that we can easily and quickly add that makes Google happy. And when Google is happy, Google likes to send people to your website. (And because these things can be added quickly, and they update themselves automatically, again this costs less than having to go do things by hand over and over again down the road.

Four Ways to Get a Website Built

1. 1) If you wish to learn about web building and wordpress you can do so. It can take a while, so only do this if you’re not in a hurry, and you want to invest lots of time, and you like this kind of computery thing.
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2. Get a friend to do it for you. Now your friend may or may not know much about how to build a *good* website, but this can be low cost, because it might even be free.
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3. Hire a webdesigner, or a wordpress website guy. You can find them easily, and some wordpress website guy will build a site for as low as $300-$500. Designers usually charge over $3000 for a custom-built site outside of the WordPress world.  And what you get will be a website. (But it may not be built very well for your marketing objectives; more on this to follow.)
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4. Hire CopyDragon webwriters. We are very skillful, and we begin with a marketing mindset. Working together, we’ll build it so that it will automatically and unconsciously appeal to your target customer, it will appeal to Google, and it will be built to support your *business.*  It will cost a fraction of what a good web-designer will charge for a custom website built from scratch ($3000 and up), and it will work much better for actually bringing you business and income.

Three Example Websites

Here are three sites we built over the last year –

• Tantra Yoga Online, http://tantrayogaonline.com (the “blog” for source school of tantra yoga)
• Spiritual EFT, http://lightningeft.com (a website for some seminars that my partner and I were hosting)
• Helicopter Tours in Siskiyou County, http://lakeshastahelicopters.com (a website for a helicopter touring company)

These all use the wordpress format, and all were built for less money than a traditional web-designer, and all three work much better for supporting the business.

Be sure to see How to Build a Website, Part Two, the Insider Information on How to Get the Life You Want

You may find yourself ... attracted.

Come back now and then. Each time, there will be more to thrill and excite you. In the meantime, have patience, my friend.