Local Market: Tampa Bay

Too much of a good thing, in advertising?, never. 2.7+ million people inhabit the Tampa Bay Metro; advertisers take note. Tampa Bay, a fast growing fast market, boasts advances in technology, economy, beautification projects, renovations, and upbeat social scene including Tampa’s promised fourth Super Bowl 2009. Tampa Bay, a local marketer’s Promised Land.

Local markets are teeming with consumers. Until recently buyers often used telephone books to find local businesses, a dying trend in today’s online world. While online buying remains only a percentage of total sales revenue more buyers are seeking retailers and service providers online than ever before. The Big 3 are offering innovative local search marketing tools, if you’re not already using them your competitors probably are.

Figuring out online features and targeting the right audience without overspending can be daunting. Many local businesses still use web space as a brochure site, something to point people to if they’re interested. Most don’t think it’s practical to utilize the web as a marketing source. Whether local businesses feel search engine marketing is too expensive or too complicated they tend to overlook the incredible value of being found online.

With Tampa Bay’s potential market it is imperative local retailers find their niche and get online. Local customers are already searching the web for local retailers and service providers. Demand is high; supplying that demand requires local businesses to put themselves in front of their customers.

Major factors prohibiting local business owners from getting online often include figuring out how to build the web site, then marketing it without going over budget. Getting online is fairly simple, marketing a successful site often requires more resources. Local business owners should not be discouraged. Tampa Bay is prospering, the market is great for all local businesses, and there are local options for finding web designers and search engine marketers.

Local to Tampa Bay ContentWorth offers a full service search engine marketing solution. Although the company is fresh to the local market the individuals behind it bring years of experience in search engine marketing. Kristen Owen, CEO of ContentWorth, has lived in the Tampa Bay area for years and knows understands the difficulties behind launching a start up business. ContentWorth’s goal is to help small and medium businesses find themselves in the SERPs and paid listings while remaining within budget. Local companies working together to increase the local market’s awareness of each.

For many businesses flying a CEO to meet another is not feasible. Having access to local business partners increases communication opportunities and helps establish a report. While technology allows business partners to easily communicate across the country or the oceans often there’s nothing better than a business meeting over coffee to iron out project details. Technology is amazing; it just doesn’t beat real life.
If your business is local to Tampa Bay and you want your site in front of the right people please consider using a local company like ContentWorth. Business to business or business to consumer matters not. Building a lasting relationship with the companies you choose to work with ensures better quality, better service, and better results. The Tampa Bay area is blossoming; don’t miss out on your share of the market

Microsoft to Buy Yahoo!?

Justin Post, a Merrill Lynch analyst, notioned Microsoft should "catch" Google by buying Yahoo! The two search engines, MSN and Yahoo, have fallen behind Google and remain second and third for what seems indefinately. Microsoft and Yahoo! declined to comment to Post's report.

But would it make sense? Microsoft certainly could purchase Yahoo! either outright or buy paying a large chunk (say $20 billion cash) then debting the rest. Microsoft can afford the buy out on paper.

Yahoo! would have to agree, of course. There can't simply be an aquisition with so much at stake. Plus, if the two converged we'd be ever closer to an oligopolgy than we currently are -- though free search for users doesn't seem much to shy away from it's advertisers who would suffer.

Shareholders would also have to agree. A company can't simply stiff ALL it's shareholders. That certainly wouldn't play well on Wall Street. Shareholders seem to be grumbling about Post's report, possibly one more reason Yahoo! and Microsoft have failed to comment. Now would constitute poor timing on Microsoft's behalf as shareholders are already angered by Microsoft's reported plans to spend as much as $2 billion to catch up with Google.

Another factor to weigh in when considering such an aquisition -- besides the humanity behind it, how many jobs would be lost? -- the search engines have different focuses on the market. Google competes for Internet advertising by creating more building software while Yahoo! aggregates more content. Microsoft is a software building company and may not mesh well with a content aggregate aquisition.

With all the news encompassing Microsoft these days -- Gates leaving in 2008, changes in rank, $2 billion spending -- shifting the focus from completely software toward a more holistic yet different angle with a content focus may not sit well with shareholders.

Microsoft may need to keep this in mind, however. With the expansion of services and consumers pressing for all inclusive, free use of everything they could ever wish for an eventual aquisition may be a golden goose for Microsoft and Yahoo! if their market values continue falling far below their competitor's. Who knows what is to come with the transition out of Gates? He's moving on to bigger, better things with his philanthropy while taking a step back from his money making conglomerate. Perhaps this is just the thing Microsoft will use to become more "hip" and in touch with the changing times. The Internet is being consumed at vast rates and a younger generation has learned to live through the Internet. Extending mash ups from helpful sites to broad companies may be the next big thing. It certainly isn't a new idea, but this could have implications we'll be guessing on for years to come.

China Market to Become More Competitve

Bloomberg News announces Google sold it's sharehold of Baidu.com stock. Baidu.com is China's leading search engine with Google and Yahoo coming in at distant seconds.

Google sold 749,625 Baidu shares originally purchased for $5 million in June 2004. The shares sold for an estimated worth of $60.1 million on June 22, 2006.

In light of the latest press coverage Jon Murchinson, a Google spokesperson, stated:

It has always been our goal to grow our own successful business in China and we are very focused on that.

This coming so soon after Sergey Brin's "confession" that working with the Chinese government may be a compromise of Google values. Of course his statement was made one day before China cracked down on Google.com and Brin retracted the statement saying Google fully intended to go forth with the China plan. Interesting shaping of events.

While reports differ which search engine comes in second to Baidu.com, Yahoo or Google, it is clear Baidu.com holds the brunt of searches in China. With the selling of it's stock which tallied a mere 2.6 stake in the company, Google has given up it's influence on that part of the market competition.

In the words of Edward Yu, CEO of Analysys told Bloomberg:

As long as Google had a stake in Baidu, competition couldn't get too serious. Competition is now getting serious."

Bloggers, SEOs, SEMs, anyone interested in the China case get comfortable, this looks like it's going to be a long ride.

Vertical Marketing: A Study

Over the weekend Multichannel Merchant released an article supplying results from a Jupitar survery. This survery looked at vertical marketing and comparison shopping sites. Here's a little break down if you don't have time to read the whole thing.

A vertical search site is becoming more of a hybrid than it originally was:

“[V]ertical” search engines — particularly comparison shopping engines, but also engines for travel and financial services - are melding with vertical sites, adding the informational content, buying guides and consumer reviews that will encourage users to engage with and trust the sites. The results are an amalgam: not totally a content site, but not a straight-ahead search engine either.

Meaning ecommerce sites need to pay attention to their brand, reputation, web content, and which search engines they use to promote their goods. Being visible is #1. Being useful isn't far behind. Shoppers like price comparison, but it may be a little different than merchants originally believed.

In its most recent survey of consumer engine usage, Jupiter found that consumers cited low price as the most influential factor in determining where they would buy a product online.

Said "Low Price" would direct purchases:
43% of undecided uninfluenced shoppers (those who did not have an idea where they would make their purchase and who had not been influenced by information they had already found on the Web.
54% of "undecided influenced" shoppers (haven't selected a merchant but say they were influenced by Web information).

NOTE: Be present throughout the shopping cycle, be informative and friendly, easy to navigate and useful and customers will consider you when their ready to buy. Of course, you must be present during the final phase as well.

Other influential factors? Low-cost shipping options and past store experience.

Comparison shopping engines lead only 4-5% of shoppers to a retail site.
26% of undecided uninfluenced and 20% of undecided influenced directly navigate to the site.
15% of undecided uninfluenced and 25% of undecided influenced find a site using a search engine.

In their influence, comparison shopping sites are about on a par with catalogs, promotional e-mail or mass-media ads.

Finding base prices:
37% of polled shoppers said they found prices at retail Web sites.
15% said they found prices on comparison sites.

Finding comparison prices:
27% of shoppers say they compare prices at comparison shopping engines.
17% cross compare at retail sites.
24% looked at comparison shopping sites for "best buys".
17% looked at retail sites for "best buys".

“Retailers should be on comparison shopping sites in order to capture those later buying-decision stages,” Patti Freeman Evans said at the Internet Retailer 2006 show in Chicago. “Consumers may have figured out that $100 is the right price for a DVD player, but who’s got free shipping? Who’s got a rebate? That’s where many of these niche and vertical search engines come into play.”

Retailers are reacting by spending more in the virtual segments or SEM (search engine marketing). In 2005 $143,000 was average spend for retailers compared to $122,000 for others. Over 50% of retailers have outsourced their SEM campaigns. This frees up time for those retailers to focus on other aspects of their businesses.

For more information on how to outsource your SEM campaign, whether you'd like to continue to be involved or would rather the campaign be handled professionally without much time on your part please contact us.

Adding to the spectrum of search engine marketing campaigns retailers often face are the incredible numbers of search engines available.

On average, retail search marketers included 4.4 search engines in their SEM campaigns in August 2005, compared to 3 for all search marketers. That figure increased in February to 5.9 search engines for retailer SEMers and 3.3 for all Web marketers.

“The advice is to be broad and test as many of these engines as you can,” [Evans] said. “Then refine down to the ones that are appropriate for your business. Even if you don’t get a lot of traffic from these vertical search engines, it might be very qualified traffic and convert very well. So it might make sense to keep a small investment in some of these vertical search engines.”

Marketing is ever evolving. To get and stay on top retailers must be agressive, thorough, knowledgeable, influencial, available, and easy to find. Search engine marketing is important for all size businesses whether you are selling a product or service. If customers are looking for what you provide you need to be where they can find you.