The Online Hunt for New Business

When's the last time you used the Yellow Pages to find a business in your local area? If you answered, "It's been awhile," you're not alone.

More than 70 percent of customers searching for high-ticket items use Google instead of the Yellow Pages to find a business in their local area, according to The Kelsey Group.

Google's local search capabilities have become more sophisticated, so dealers can now pinpoint their online marketing efforts to reach a targeted geographic area more cost-effectively.

The customer follow through is just as encouraging. A study by comScore shows:

• 44 percent of consumers using online search to find a local business contacted the business by phone
• 34 percent visited the business
• 14 percent contacted the business online

There's no doubt that search marketing has become the new local advertising medium of choice — because it works. Just think about it: When you went to research your last major local purchase, where did you start?

Many custom dealers who understand this have already redirected their spending from the Yellow Pages to Google. Generalist Internet marketing companies like ReachLocal, Yodle and AT&T Interactive are aggressively soliciting dealers for their online marketing services. Yet, dealers are learning it's easy to spend a lot on Google without getting many qualified leads.

That's because a generalist Internet marketing company is not focused on our industry. Achieving success with Google search marketing requires constant testing and adjustments to industry-specific ad wording and search terms to really get the bang for your buck.

Many generalist companies actually copy your Web site within a frame on their site, so when customers do click on your ad, they go to the marketing company's URL, not yours — so all the money you're spending isn't helping you move up in the free Google listings.

A/V-Specific Alternative

There is at least one local search marketing company 100 percent focused on the custom electronics industry — AV NetResults. The company says it has spent thousands of hours creating search algorithms and fine-tuning A/V keyword-based ad campaigns for its growing client base of home theater/custom dealers. Many of their clients are reporting a nice uptick in qualified leads that result in Internet inquiries, phone calls or walk-in traffic.

"Since starting the program, we've nearly doubled the number of impressions we receive, from under 30,000 per month four months ago to over 52,000 per month today. Our click-throughs have grown from 740 in the first few months to 935 this month," says one prominent upscale custom dealer in the Midwest.

"We know we're getting new customers because we have a front parking lot that is less accessible to our entrance, which is in the back of our building. If you've ever been here, you would likely park in the back. Since we started with AV NetResults, nearly every day there are cars parked in the front lot which are clearly customers visiting our company for the first time."

Designed by and for Custom Dealers

AV NetResults developed from a very real marketing challenge faced by Audio Advice, a Raleigh, N.C.-based high-end home theater/custom integrator with a lavish showroom and 30 years of success.

"Like many dealers, about 18 months ago we realized that traditional media was no longer producing results. Even the most targeted direct mail campaigns were not creating new customers," says AV NetResults founder Leon Shaw. "My partner, Scott Newnam, who had a background in Internet marketing, decided to dive into the Google search arena."

Newnam, with the help of Internet marketing expert Bill Nagel, spent hundreds of hours creating keyword ad campaigns for Audio Advice, constantly tweaking for results. They tested ad variations for all of their brands and services, and within six to eight weeks they started to see real results. Phones were ringing, people were coming in. And they were often qualified prospects soon converted into new business opportunities, says Shaw.

As a result, Audio Advice was actually growing its business in 2009. Shaw and Newnam thought other dealers could benefit from a similar program. Shaw contacted a few high-profile dealers that he says all jumped at the idea. Word spread quickly among HTSA (Home Theater Specialists of America) members, and Shaw started fielding calls from other dealers asking about the program.

"At that point, we realized we were onto something," he says. "We combined our intimate knowledge of the AV/custom space with the addition of two Internet marketing experts, Bill Nagel and Brendan Morrissey (CEO), to create AV NetResults."

AV NetResults now has more than 60 clients and thousands of tested keywords based on major custom/AV brands and services. The company continuously tests and refines ads, so new clients gain the cumulative knowledge of trends gleaned from campaigns they're running all over the country.

"The AV NetResults program is a million times better than the Yellow Pages, for less money," says, Leon Soohoo, who owns Paradyme in Sacramento, Calif. "Our phones are ringing, and we're also seeing an excellent click-through on service and repair."

How it Works

Using algorithms and automated "bots" that continually crawl sites, Google develops "relevance" ratings for the combinations of your Web site content and the myriad related daily search queries. For paid search ads, a similar process also includes keyword "bids" and assigns a "quality score" for your site matched to the many possible related words.

"To improve your position in Google's paid search ads, you must have high quality scores, popularity based on actual clicking of your ads over time, and bids that are high enough for the hundreds of keywords in your paid search program," says Morrissey.

"Every minute there is an auction going on for each keyword, and the bid constantly changes based on advertiser competition for that keyword in each local market.

"Your monthly ad budget and the bids are used to determine the position of your ad and how often your ad appears for a given keyword search. Over time, relevance and activity from a paid search ad program can indirectly influence improved performance in free search clicks, and vice-versa."

The goal isn't simply to get the most clicks to your site, Morrissey stresses. It's to attract valuable qualified prospects that find you online — and contact you to buy offline.

"We're definitely seeing more calls from our higher listings on Google," says Mike McMaster of Wilshire Home Entertainment in Thousand Oaks, Calif. "We feel good about allocating more dollars to the program because we're marketing to people who are actually looking right now."

Creating a Cost-Effective Ad Spend

AV NetResults helps you figure out the correct budget and balance between your targeted geographic area and the number of brands and services you choose to promote. They also employ hundreds of researched "negative keywords" in your campaign to filter out unqualified searchers. For example, suppose you carry the Integra brand. If someone keys in "Acura Integra," they won't waste your ad on a car buyer.

AV NetResults also posts ads against hundreds of service-related terms, depending on what a dealer provides. A "home automation services in Las Vegas" search, for example, led one Googler to local integrator Abbott's — and an eventual $40,000 project.

You can track your ROI in real-time, too, because AV NetResults feeds you data that shows how many impressions and clicks you receive, and exactly what you paid for the clicks.

There's no question that local search marketing is here to stay. By getting in now when many custom dealers have yet to create sponsored Google search campaigns, the competition for keywords is less expensive and you have a chance to move up in Google's paid and free listings faster and less expensively — all the while attracting new customers and creating a lasting presence in your local online marketplace.