Hey, it’s Bob Negen and in this episode of Real Retail TV, we’re going to explore the importance of local search.

Getting listed, so to speak, making sure that when people are searching for your business if they’re sure searching for the products that you sell that your store gets shown online.

But before we get into that, I just wanna share with you that today is the last day to save big on Crystal Media’s Get Listed service. This is a service where they will do all of the work for you. Today is the last day, special day just for WhizBang! retailers like you. Click on the link down below to learn more I strongly strongly strongly recommend it.

So local search, what is it, and how do you maximize it?

So think about it this way. Think about if you’re a say say you’re a bicycle enthusiast and you go into a town and you need something to you know, to enhance your biking experience, you Google or you search. I call it Google, but that’s just sort of a generic, like Kleenex.

You Google bike shops near me.

Google or the, whatever search engine you use will call up a list of bike shops based on what your search engine optimization.

So what you’re doing is you’re proactively building optimization into your into your business, into your online presence so that when somebody searches for you, Somebody searches for a brand that you sell. Somebody searches for a category or the industry that you’re in you get called up first. If you’re in one of the top three spaces, the probability that you will get that business goes way, way, way up. Just think about your own experience.

And so this is becoming more and more important So retail dive did a survey, and they concluded that sixty seven percent of people research a product online before they go and buy it in store. Think about that. Almost seven to ten people. So if I need to buy a suit, I would search men’s clothing stores near me, and I would go and I’d look through those top three or top five websites.

I’d see what brands they carry. I’d get a feel for the vibe of the store by their website. And then I would choose where I’m going to go shop. So that’s why it is so very, very important.

But now here’s another really interesting dynamic here. So sixty four percent of the people who are who are searching a brand or a store or a category intend to buy either immediately or within an hour. So again, If I’m searching men’s clothing store, what it usually means for sixty four percent of the people who are searching It means I want to go get that thing right now. So I’m searching.

I’m seeing what store I like. Then I go there. You know, almost immediately. I go there within a day or two.

This is really, really important.

Yet how many times have you gone online to search, information about a store or a restaurant?

And the information was incomplete or inaccurate.

So think about that. You go. And it says it closes at six, but in actuality, it closes at five. You get there and it’s not open.

It just infuriates you, doesn’t it? Or it says that they’re closed on Sunday. But how about if they opened up on Sunday for the holidays? You would miss that sale.

So there’s two dynamics that go into this thing. One is having your search engine optimization, getting list did, and two, making sure your information is accurate. So we’re going into the holiday season. People are searching before they’re buying.

It is really important for you as a local independent brick and mortar retailer to get your listings right to make sure you all of your search engine optimization ducks are in a row so that you get listed and that the information on your listing is correct.

This is one of those fundamental digital marketing dynamics that you have to get right. I know you’re been I know you’re doing a million things, but go right now. Look at your online listings. Make sure that all of the information is correct. If you plan on making any changes before the holiday, put it on your calendar to make the changes when the changes occur. So let’s say you plan on extending your holiday hours right after Thanksgiving.

Put it on your calendar that sometime during Thanksgiving while you’re sitting there with a glass of wine and overstuffed with Turkey that you go and update your information.

This is really important.

Don’t miss these little details that make a big difference in your business.

Now one more thing that I wanna share with you, and this is really great stuff is that Crystal Media shared in a webinar on Wednesday about her service called Get Listed. And do you know there are over sixty different websites that all list this information yahoo, Bing, Google, Yelp, you know, all of these all of these listings they all are important because they all feed on themselves. So Crystal and Crystal Media have a tremendous service called Get Listed.

You know, you just don’t have the time, the energy, or the expertise to get listed on all of these services and to keep those listings up to date to keep it accurate. So this is a great example of who, not how.

Who, let Crystal do this really important thing for you. Don’t figure out how you can do it. Let somebody else do it for you. So there’s a link down below.

I would take a look. I would click on it. And again, Crystal has a special deal for WhizBang! retailers like you, and I would encourage you to take a look I would encourage you to sign up. It is one of those investments that will pay big.

It is one of those things that is not a cost It’s an investment that when you invest in Get Listed, you’re going to make way, way, way, way more than the cost of the program. So click down below, look at it, give it a, you know, good look I’m encouraging you to sign up, but, of course, your business, your decision up to you. And I’m Bob Negen, and we’ll see you next week.