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Thought Facebook Places might be a serious contender to Foursquare and Gowalla for location marketing? Think again.
Whilst it ought to have stood a chance in the geolocation marketing stakes, Facebook rolled out Places as an afterthought, a feature with no thinking behind it. And now it has gone. In the hullabaloo of yet more privacy changes on Facebook to affect all users, Places has been consigned to the pile of tried and failed apps.
It would be interesting to look at why certain features ‘fit’ in a social network, and why users prefer other features to remain in a dedicated space. For instance, it is unlikely that everyone will start making voice calls within Facebook rather than using already established solutions such as mobile, Skype or the good old landline. Even Ebay has not really resolved that one although it was a logical fit to allow buyers and sellers to communicate via Skype.
Those who use geolocation, for whatever reason, have a preferred tool for the job. Facebook was not it. And never could be without becoming increasingly good at delivering what the dedicated solutions had found to be the big wins – badges, tips, photos, event location, crowdsourced and unique awards, discounts etc.
It will be interesting to note during 2012 how far down the social graph Facebook sinks. Already, it is feeling like it has lost its edge. And for that, you should probably blame Google+. Not that Google+ is going to fill in the space, more the space has moved.
Facebook has suddenly taken on a MySpace tumbleweed type feel, and once sites such as this lose the interest of users, there is rarely a way back up.
Which geolocation tool do you use, and why? Is it to inform friends of your whereabouts? To track down deals? To meet people you share common interests with, or FOAF? (Remember that?!)
Or are you as a marketer far less interested in any time of check ins than you were 12 months ago? In which case, what is piquing your interest right now? Tell us more……
Many small businesses are taking the steps to make their content SEO friendly to increase web traffic.
However, according to an article published by Search Engine Watch, there are ‘geo-specific optimization’ measures that can be taken – to ensure those clicking through to a site are relevant.
Here is just a small selection:
News brought to you by ClickThrough – specialists in Search Engine Optimisation and Internet Marketing.
Think global, act local (AKA glocal) was a well known campaign slogan for a multitude of ’sins’ – eco warriors etc. As the internet has permitted many of us to search further afield for what we seek, the hope had to be that this could be turned on its head and we could think local e.g. “I need/ my family needs/my business needs” but find the answers somewhere ‘out there’ globally. Usually through the search engines.
Google have gone from easy global searches to focusing on local searches in many of their results. So, we have gone from the days where hitting the UK sites only option brought up foreign (e.g.US-based) companies until you narrowed it down to a UK address or a .co.uk domain (often hours later) for the right result e.g. a UK company, to a situation where you can’t find a foreign company for love nor money on a Google search whatever version .com, .co.uk you use.
Which can be a problem when you know that the information you are seeking is definitely not in the UK, nor on your doorstep, nor in Slough, Birmingham or wherever your ISP is based.
There are growing frustrations being expressed about the focus on local search. If every community was self-sufficient in all that each of us require in an increasingly commercial world, none of us would need the Net at all! We would just need a car and the Yellow Pages. But the reality is that many of the products and services that each of us require on a daily basis are NOT available locally.
For instance, I have zero chance of finding a Mandarin translator in my nearby town. I have to look further afield. And if I need such a person to deliver a commercial service, I would like a choice so I find best value.
I do not want to be forced to find that person in the UK. It may be that I need timely translation services eg I send the digital recording of my interview at the end of my working day to New Zealand/Singapore/Hong Kong so that the transcript and translation is back in my inbox (due to the time difference) by the following morning so I can write my article. This is a prime example of how the global economy can be made to work for the benefit of all parties.
However, what is now happening is that I am now adding undue extra cost to my bottom line through the time it takes to find the answer on the search engines because of the focus on local search. The presumption being that what I need is available locally. Whilst this may be correct for pizzas, it is utterly mistaken for a digital service or a specialist product.
I think Google need to rethink. It is time to advance Boolean operators and choices about searches so that Google isn’t assuming it knows better than me when it comes to entering a search term. If I want a video or photo, then that is what I will click on. If I want to find someone locally and therefore save the planet by reducing delivery miles, allow me to search ‘Local’. If I want news, let me look for news.
And every time I want to search the Net, not my local yellow pages, let me do that without giving me completely irrelevant results. If Google’s mantra is ‘Relevance, Relevance, Relevance’ then right now the search results are failing many with the focus on LOCAL.
Got a few minutes spare? You should make time for this tip…. it will really make a difference to your search engine exposure on Google and how visitors view you with regard to the competition.
Firstly, log in to the Google Local Business Centre and watch the short video (1min 38s) explaining the benefits of adding your business. Then, add your business. Have to hand a photo or three, as well as a video if you can.
For any business with a lack of time and budget to get right behind internet marketing, the LBC offers a chance to get information about where your customers are coming from, your site stats, and enhance your web presence through your SERP listing.
The other great thing you can now do is to add coupons to your site that your potential customers can print out and bring along to your bricks and mortar store. If you are going to do this (it may not suit your business model), then don’t forget to promote the coupons in plenty of other places too.
Integrate on and offline marketing for maximum effect.
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