Hardly a day goes by where I am driving down the road here in Phoenix and see another small business boarded up and out of business. It is sad because just a few short years ago, Phoenix was booming. We were growing faster then any other city in the nation.

I drove to my favorite pool supply company the other day,  only to see they were gone. One of my favorite pizza places closed last year.

What is happening to the Small Business owner in Phoenix Arizona?

Unless you have been living in a cave you probably know that the Phoenix metro area was hit hard by the housing crisis. Hundreds of thousands of construction workers were suddenly unemployed. Many businesses that depended on new construction are struggling to stay in business.

Phoenix has always been known as a small business mecca. Strips malls everywhere and tons of aspiring entrepreneurs flock here from all over the nation.

Who will survive this bad economy?

Here is the scoop. Small business owners in Phoenix are realizing that the local Yellow pages don’t work anymore and the Arizona Republic is losing readers in droves and ads just don’t pull the way they used to. The fact is, there are still millions of people living here, they are just not looking for products and services in the same places they used to.

If you are a small business owner in the Phoenix metro area you better take action now if you want to survive. That action is creating a strong local internet presence.

How to create a powerful local online presence in the Phoenix metro area.

The first thing is look at what advertising you are currently doing and what is working. If the Yellow pages aren’t pulling get rid of them. If your newspaper ads aren’t ringing the phones cut back your ad budget.

I am not telling you to cut your advertising, just reallocate it to areas that are working. The worst thing a business can do in slow times is cut their advertising.

What’s Working Now?

Local Internet Marketing is working now, but only if you are doing it right. Just having a website is not enough!

Focus on these 3 areas and watch your business grow!

1. Local Search Engine Marketing – Is your business listing showing up on page one of Google, Yahoo, and Bing? Local Search Marketing is free but you must know how to do it if you expect to see results. The way you design your business listing, where you submit it, the categories you choose, and the keywords you focus on have a strong influence on whether you hit the magic first page of Google.

2. Your Website – If you don’t have one get one! Is your website designed for the local market? Is it search engine friendly? Is it user friendly? Your website is the most powerful marketing tool in your arsenal and show be driving customers ready to buy to your business everyday. If it isn’t doing that it may be time for a website redesign!

3. Social Media - Many experts see this as the future of local internet marketing. Facebook is huge! The problem is, most people think it is a waste of time because they don’t understand how social media works.  the biggest mistake is constantly blasting out your sales message to your followers. Social media is about meeting people, engaging in conversation and softly selling your product or service.

Think of social media as a big party where people gather to have fun and talk about stuff. Imagine going to a party and spending the evening trying to sell stuff to everybody that talks to you. you will find yourself alone in the corner very quickly.

Social media also requires that you be involved on a daily basis. If you don’t have time, hire a Social Media Management company to do it for you.

Okay,  Phoenix business owners those are 3 very big areas you must focus on if you want to create a powerful local presence and start attracting new customers on a daily basis.

Now get on it!

Jeffrey Taylor is a 15 year Internet Marketing consultant and the founder of Local GoldMine a local Phoenix Internet Marketing company designed to provide effective and affordable online marketing solutions for small business owners.

If you want a Free Consultation or just want to pick my brain a little give me a call. I live here in Phoenix. My direct number is 602-538-5661

To Your Success,

Jeffrey Taylor