Schools and educator websites are traditionally geared toward providing students and educators with topical information about school programs, classes, calendars and homework resources. But with dwindling school budgets and social media trends, some schools are looking for additional ways to create community and improve fundraising options. Local search is one way that education websites can give their constituents another reason to frequent their websites and opportunities to partner with local businesses for sponsorships.

Local search increases routine visits and revenue for schools

Educational institutions possess both the trust and contact information of an extremely valuable commodity: residents of local communities. This is where the “real users” are – the people looking for local products and services on a daily basis. In addition, the majority of residents within the local area have broadband connectivity” the faster the connection, the more routine web searching, research and purchasing becomes. Couple this with findings that 92 percent of local searches convert to sales later offline, and it is easy to see why these real local users constitute the audience that marketers crave – and why local search advertising is growing so quickly.

WeAreNetwork - family-friendly local search

WeAreNetwork, a local search network, powers Educated Search’s local search results. The human-edited, child-safe local directories feature about 140 of the most popular local search categories, from accountants to dentists, children’s stores to worship locations.

With the family-friendly search environment that WeAreNetwork provides, Educated Search clients can rest easy, knowing that the businesses their students & parents are viewing are appropriate for school-age children and are sound businesses serving their local communities.

Educational search + local search = best solution for students, parents, schools

Educated Search’s custom-designed search engine for the benefit of schools, students, parents and the local community. Educated Search builds user-friendly search software that protects children from improper online content while giving schools the ability to create their own search content, directing students to the online research outlets that suit the current curriculum. Additionally, local business information can be added to the engine to create a local portal for students, parents and area residents. In this local search” section of the school’s website, sponsorships and advertisements can be placed which are relevant to students and parents and will promote revenue for the school.

Is making online marketing mainstream the answer to helping small businesses increase their exposure and profits? Sam’s Club seems to think so. But does that make it so?

Sam’s Club’s LeadConnect offers online services packages starting at $25/month that include adding a local business’ profile to search engines and Yellow Page directories.

Those in the search industry know that good search engine optimization and marketing techniques include a substantial education cycle and far more action than “hand submissions” to the major search engines and directories. While we’re all for local businesses giving online a chance, it probably isn’t in their best interest to market this type of service without educating on what will really drive results.

Even pay-per-click advertising isn’t the end of a dedicated SEO campaign. Your website has to feature relevant, well-organized content that speaks your customer’s language and provides a 2-way feedback loop between business and customer. Being found because you submitted to the search engines is a long shot, and even if searchers do find you, you still have to engage and support their discovery process.

Being found for a business’ keywords in the search results of local search sites is a better use of advertising dollars, and can provide better conversion rates than PPC or display advertising.
However, what local businesses need is education – not a laborious SEO university education – but some cursory knowledge of what constitutes a results-driven online initiative. Then, they need help in taking the appropriate actions for their budget and specialty.

It’s not just about submitting listings or buying placement – it’s about how you represent online and whether your online presence is as worthwhile to visit as your offline location. And if SMBs don’t understand this, they’ll spend that $25 or $100 a month and not see adequate results. They could become bitter about the Internet and search marketing in general.

Making SEO mainstream sends a message that brands are built by hands-off methods. Truth is, it’s going to take more than $25/month and a one-time web form to make it online. Education and a little manageable action are the keys to using the power of the online community to a small business’ advantage.