Spork Marketing

Pop quiz: It’s 1998. You’ve just started your very own business. What’s the single best way to advertise to the public?

Answer: The Yellow Pages.

For decades, the Yellow Pages were THE place to find a local business. Need a plumber? That’s under “P.” Some people would call the number from the biggest ad on the page. Some would call the number of the first name in the book (probably AAAAA Plumbing), and some would call the number they recognized.

For longer than most people can remember, the Yellow Pages were the only place to find information about local business. Now, let’s fast forward 10 years…

While consumers still consult the Yellow Pages, their decline is inevitable. A recent study conducted by ComScore has found that search engines are now consulted more often than the venerable Yellow Pages. At some point in the not-too-distant future, people will look back fondly upon the days when they had to use a book to find a phone number. Search engines will soon become the main tool people use to find information about local business.

Of course, using a search engine has some limitations. For argument’s sake, we’ll talk about the limitations of Google, the most popular search engine in the world:

• Everyone who uses a search engine uses it differently. Most people will search for some variation of the word “plumber”, such as “Denver plumber”, “plumber in Denver”, or “plumber 80203″. Of course, some people can’t spell “plumber”, so they’ll search for “Denver plummer”. The irony here is that while some of the people typing “Denver plummer” are actually looking for a “Denver plumber”, there’s a good chance that most of the people typing “Denver plummer” are actually looking for information about Jake Plummer, former quarterback of the Denver Broncos. The point: everyone uses a search engine differently, and that makes it harder for a business to get listed.

Most people searching for “Denver plummer” are probably looking for this guy, but some of them are looking for a “Denver plumber” and simply don’t know how to spell.

• Google only generates 10 “organic” (a.k.a. non-paid) search results per page. When someone searches for “Denver Plumber”, they usually only look at the top 10 results (the first page). Imagine opening the Yellow Pages and only finding 10 listings in every category - what happens to a business that isn’t listed in the top 10?

• Google only offers 10 “sponsored” (a.ka. paid) search results per page. Google only allows 10 advertisements on a page, so if more than 10 plumbers want to advertise, someone is going to be left off the first page.

• Google is more concerned about the user’s experience than they are about ad revenue. Google has a complicated computer system that will only show the ads it determines to be “high quality.” The determination of an ad’s quality has almost nothing to do with revenue. In other words - you can’t buy your way onto that first page (not without making sure you have a quality ad anyways).

• Google is constantly changing itself. Google uses an extremely complicated algorithm (a complicated computer program for you newbies), and as problems or shortcomings are found, the algorithm is updated. These updates can dramatically change search results - the top 10 listings today could fall off the first page tomorrow.

In short, the biggest limitation to a search engine is this: unlike buying an ad in the Yellow Pages, most business owners simply don’t have the time to make sure their business stays on top.

Fortunately, we’re available to help. Contact us to find out more about our services.