Is Local Advertising Effective on the Internet?
Every small business owner understands the importance of the internet. But when it comes to effective local advertising, many business owners make the mistake of only considering traditional marketing techniques, rather than taking advantage of advertising on the internet. There is a mindset that local internet marketing has not been a great advertising medium. Until recently, that was true. Now, however, the internet can be a powerful tool for any small business marketing plan.

The Yellow Pages
Most people have heard of Google. In fact, it's probably how you found the page you are reading right now. Within the last few years, Google has nearly made the Yellow Pages entirely obsolete. Why hoist that thick book out, thumb through thousands of pages, just to find a phone number when you can find all you need and more easily online? Because of Google, many people don't even bother to pick up the yellow pages when it's delivered. That has dramatically reduced the effectiveness of yellow pages advertising. But you wouldn't guess it from the yellow page peope, because they are still charging a lot for those local yellow page ads.

Local Newspapers
Everybody knows that the web is eating away at subscriptions. People just don't read the papers as much as they used to and readership continues to decline. But the more important thing to consider, in terms of effective advertising, is the reduced impact a newspaper ad has on today's reader. Because of the interactivity of media sources today, a printed ad just doesn't resonate with the reader as it used to.

Direct Mail
But, the internet doesn't affect direct mail, right? A lot of people are beginning to look at mail as unimportant to their lives. Bills are online, bank information is online, newspapers are online and birthday cards are emailed. The rest of what people find in their mailbox (direct mail) is simply considered junk. It's not uncommon for people to scan their mail and then throw away the entire pile completely unopened. Even direct mail isn't safe from the internet.

The Cost of Traditional Advertising
One thing that most business owners know is that there are few forms of affordable advertising. Since the Yellow Page ads were once considered essential to a small business, they were able to charge a lot for being listed. Just one ad in a neighborhood newspaper ad will be expensive. With direct mail there are postage, printing and paper costs to consider. And will all these forms of advertising, there are design costs and considerations.

Targeted Local Advertising
Most small business owners are looking for affordable local advertising. The best way to stretch a small business marketing budget is to find places to advertise that reach a targeted, local audience.

Traditional advertising can work, but...
We aren't saying that traditional advertising doesn't work anymore. It does, and having a good mix of advertising is a good thing. But when you are trying to make your advertising budget go as far as possible, the internet can be a great place to go.