September 22, 2007

Have a Web Site? Need Local Leads? You Need Yodle.

Building a web site is getting easier and easier to do. Between hiring your own web designer or using one of the many do it yourself (DIY) services, the options are wide costs are varied.

Acquiring customers through traditional word of mouth, networking events, referrals and other traditional small business growth opportunities is important. If you want to go beyond these limited channels using local search advertising solutions is a powerful option.

More and more of your customers are finding that they are finding local businesses through online search. I'm sure the Yellow Pages is still important but finding local business through the internet is growing. Yodle is one company that helps small businesses get more local customers.

Yodle's service is pretty simple to understand.

1. Yodle uses a large network of search engine sites to advertise your business to local customers. Using Cost Per Click advertising you can manage how much you want to pay per click.

2. Yodle builds a web site for you as well. Many local businesses still don't have web sites as they're main focus is relying on local foot traffic and thinking beyond the few blocks around them is not on their mind.

Yodle's web sites are not glamorously designed web sites, but functional. If your competitor hired a web designer and they have a real nice looking web site, you might want to hire a web developer to build your web site. But if you want a basic, plain vanilla web site, Yodle can build this for you.

3. Get phone calls. Yodle gives you a customized local phone number. Wait. There's more. When phone calls come in the calls are 1) logged 2) recorded. The log lets you see how many calls come in and when. Recording the calls let you know how well (or how bad) your employees are answering the telephone.

If you are a local business and have not yet tasted the benefits of online marketing, give Yodle a try. There's no long term contract to worry about.

Some other services you might wish to consider are ReachLocal which specializes in online advertising for small local customers. They won't build you a web site or give you a phone number though.

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