Hello from sunny Miami! I wrote another post for the SBDCNet national blog discussing the value that customer testimonials bring to a business. Please feel free to read the article here. Brownbook provides the ideal platform for customers to write reviews of local businesses and makes it easy for businesses to ask their customers to review them online.

If you’re on Twitter, follow me @ChristineMAdolf!

I have written an article featured on the Small Business Development Center National Information Clearinghouse (SBDCNet) about online word of mouth marketing for small businesses. The post points out several things that small businesses can do to create buzz for their company online. You can check out the article by clicking here. Feel free to contact me with any questions or feedback about Brownbook in the US by e-mailing me at christine [at] brownbook [dot] net. You can also connect with me on Twitter: @ChristineMAdolf.

Hooray, we just got the Brownbook.com domain name.

(but we still go by the name of Brownbook.net, we’ve become quite attached to it )

www.brownbook.com

Want to get inside my head?  You can follow me on Twitter, my profile is here http://twitter.com/daveingram and click “follow” (if you don’t have a Twitter account you’ll need to register first).

Dave Ingram, CEO Brownbook.net

I was the recipient of an interesting direct marketing email this week, and it struck such a chord with me that I thought I’d share it with you here.  Some very interesting stats that really drive home the importance of being online and findable for every small business.

(you may want to check this article in The Telegraph this week in the same vein)

(PS: I’ve removed the name of the company to protect the innocent )

MAKE THE WEB WORK FOR YOU

With ******** Internet Solutions
2.7 Billion Searches – Every Month!*
What’s your share of the search?

With all these searches on the internet why isn’t your business getting it’s fair share? 79%** of searches are performed on Google, with the rest trailing far behind – just 8% on Yahoo, 5% on Ask, 4% for MSN and a mere 2% for all the other search services and directories on the Internet. Does the website of the telephone directory you pay to advertise in feature in this list?

Over half – 54%*** to be precise – of the UK population use the internet regularly, and if YOUR business is not on the Internet – or not highly ranked on the number one search engine – then potential customers don’t know you exist.

The numbers speak for themselves – what’s YOUR percentage of the 2.7 BILLION searches?

People are looking for your product or service online – call ******** today and find out how we can increase your share of the search to improve your business performance!

• Can your business afford not to take advantage of the web?
• Are you one of the many businesses that still don’t have a website?
• Are you still spending hundreds – or even thousands – on paper advertising?
• With £70bn** of business today conducted on the web – isn’t it time you asked why?

* comScore
** Hitwise, an Experian Company
*** UK Office of national statistics
DI>  I liked the email, and very useful stats too. Of course you could take the DIY approach and add your business to Brownbook.net with relevant tags.  No need to talk to us, no need to fend off any sales person either.  Our SEO ensures you get found on all the major  search engines helping you win new business. Simple as that.

I had an interesting chat by email with one of our business users yesterday and today, the main subject of which was how best to list his business which operates statewide in Florida, USA.  The recommendation I gave him and will give any business that covers a wide area is use one listing, and then use the Business Tags to denote towns or areas.  Our search uses the business name AND the tags amongst other things, and the SEO on Brownbook.net puts a lot of emphasis on the tags too.  This means your one listing gets you exposure against searches (in Brownbook.net and on the major search engines) across many areas, plus you only need maintain and update one listing.

We’re also noticing that recently updated businesses are benefitting from mopre frequent crawling by search engines, so do come back and keep your page fresh, either by ading or updating a detailed business description, photos, videos, or getting customers to add reviews.

I’ll leave the last word in our conversation to Marcus, owner of Singing Telegrams based in Clearwater Florida but serving the entire state:

“You have no idea how this helps my business, I had an advertising catastrophe and now I have to make up for lost revenue – I can use all the free advertising I can get.  So, once again, THANK YOU!!!!!”

Do check our Marcus’s business listing right here

(http://www.brownbook.net/business/31006505/all-occasion-singing-telegram-entertainment-statewide)

and if you need anything from a dancing gorilla in pink tights and a tutu, to a Marylin Monroe celebrity lookalike, drop them a line.