In reading the Wall Street Journal this morning I was impressed by the story talking about both Macy’s and The Home Depot. Although same store sales are declining, margins are holding up, and they are faring much better than their competitors.
One key to their strategy was cited as localization. Basically, having the right products in stock for the local markets they serve.
Obviously, this got me thinking about what role business blog software can play in helping both big retailers and mom & pops succeed in local marketing.
Search is the clear competitive element here. Because search is both ubiquitous and localized, any retailer can study search data and get a sense how their product selection aligns with local demand. Many estimates tell us that between 30% and 50% of all search has “local” intent.
The second step is to make those searchers aware that they can find these products at your store locally. This of course is where a corporate blogging strategy steps in. I’ve used home depot before as an example of how to leverage widespread employee blogging to target local search. (at this point, I’ve got no evidence that THD is doing this, my post is just for illustration purposes)
The topics of this local blogging should focus on the products and solutions that are available locally. In my whitepaper on local search this is discussed in detail, but the summary is: Blog about your inventory or as most search experts tell us, blog about the keywords that your customers and prospects are using. The WSJ article mentions Charcoal Barbecue Grills favored in Chicago and Makita Power Tools on the west coast. A quick examination of the search volume on these topics make localized corporate blogging an outstanding strategy.
One key to their strategy was cited as localization. Basically, having the right products in stock for the local markets they serve.
Obviously, this got me thinking about what role business blog software can play in helping both big retailers and mom & pops succeed in local marketing.
Search is the clear competitive element here. Because search is both ubiquitous and localized, any retailer can study search data and get a sense how their product selection aligns with local demand. Many estimates tell us that between 30% and 50% of all search has “local” intent.
The second step is to make those searchers aware that they can find these products at your store locally. This of course is where a corporate blogging strategy steps in. I’ve used home depot before as an example of how to leverage widespread employee blogging to target local search. (at this point, I’ve got no evidence that THD is doing this, my post is just for illustration purposes)
The topics of this local blogging should focus on the products and solutions that are available locally. In my whitepaper on local search this is discussed in detail, but the summary is: Blog about your inventory or as most search experts tell us, blog about the keywords that your customers and prospects are using. The WSJ article mentions Charcoal Barbecue Grills favored in Chicago and Makita Power Tools on the west coast. A quick examination of the search volume on these topics make localized corporate blogging an outstanding strategy.
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