My mother’s career was in real estate. One piece of advice that I remember hearing her give clients over and over again was this: “Location! Location! Location!” What a broken record that became in our house! It was always accompanied by a few rolling eyes from each member of the family – mostly me.
Well, you know what they say, “like mother like daughter”. I’ve become the mouthpiece for that same broken record, only this time its reference is different – concerning ad placement on search engine results pages (SERP).
There are approximately 30 ad placements on any given search engine results page. This really isn’t a lot when you consider how many businesses offer identical services in a given area. There are three (3) sponsored links- usually the first three ads listed in a shaded box on the upper left hand side of the page, seven (7) local listings- known as map sponsorship ads, ten (10) organic listings- which are placed below the map listings, and ten (10) sponsored links on the right side of the page.
Phew! Hope I didn’t lose you there!
With all of these search results, sponsorships ads, and sponsored links, it brings about the following question: How are people searching on Google?
LOCAL BUSINESS LISTINGS
99.9999% of the time searchers will go directly to the map sponsorship, also known as the local business listings. How do I know this? Because, I have conducted a lot of competitive user tests where our clients hire us to compare their website with those of their competitors (see attached video). Most of the time searchers want to know who provides the services they need within the closest proximity to where they live. It may seem like an archaic way to go about hiring someone, but with the average person’s busy schedule, it’s not too surprising that this is how people are conducting and using online searches.
To get your business listed under the map sponsorship, you must first have a physical address within a given area. So, if your business is located in Wichita, Kansas, but you would instead like to be listed in Topeka, you may have an issue. This can be overridden by providing “extras” within a listing. I recommend that people load their listings with coupons, videos (for which you’ll need a URL), photos, and legitimate customer reviews.
Advantages: The service is free right now. However, there are rumors of Google changing this to a Pay-Per-Click model.
Disadvantages: Map sponsorship placement is at the mercy of Google, and is a little bit of a wild card.
ORGANIC LISTINGS
The second place people look for a service is in the organics. People often refer to this section as the “free listings.” However, it’s most likely that the listings in this section are getting placed there because businesses have hired an SEO guru to get them there — so in reality they’re not really free.
Advantages: Good ROI. Typically an agency will charge a flat monthly fee regardless of the clicks that have been generated. Searchers tend to trust the organics more than sponsored ads, therefore they can generate huge amounts of traffic to a website.
Disadvantages: Getting an organic listing requires a strategic approach that is not always instantaneous. Sometimes it can take months to build a good campaign. SEO requires a site that is properly organized with landing pages that are geared towards specific keywords.
SPONSORED LISTINGS
The last resource for most searchers are the sponsored links. These are also known as Pay-Per-Click ads, in which the advertiser pays for each click generated.
Advantages: Instantaneous results! You can have a campaign up and running on the search engines within a couple of hours. Pay-Per-Click campaigns are reactionary, meaning if you want to promote a certain product or service, or if something is amuck in the campaign, it can be fixed instantly.
PPC can accommodate any budget. If you have a small budget, you can modify and go after “less-popular” keywords, which will cost you less money.
Disadvantages: These types of campaigns can get pricey if you’re in a competitive field. (Note: It’s a benefit to hire someone to manage your campaign, as it will save you money. We recently took over an account in which the advertiser was paying a whopping $76.00 per conversion. Our approach slimmed that down to a sweet $5.41. A good agency knows all the little tricks.)
According to comscore.com, paid search results have gone down 22%, predominantly because people have a greater trust in organic search results.
So, what does all of this have to do with location? If you can occupy all three spots, you have obtained 30% of the Internet’s top search real estate. It’s all about percentages. The more Internet land you occupy, the more traffic you’ll garner to your website, which in turn, will result in more conversions.
After that, it’s all a matter of will. The companies who are willing and able to invest in their stake of online real estate will reap the rewards. And the ones who don’t will be left behind.
How much Internet do you own?
