FTD on Local Search with ReachLocal

The DMNews covers ReachLocal’s relationship with FTD:

So in early 2006, FTD decided to partner with ReachLocal, a local Internet advertising company that assists small to midsize businesses. The company makes sure that its cli­ents’ pay-per-click ads appear next to relevant keyword search results across all of the major search engines, as well as Superpages.com.

These business owners just don’t have time to spend two to three hours a day adjusting keyword bids on Google, explains Zorik Gordon, presi­dent and CEO of ReachLocal. “We found that what these guys wanted was a value proposition, where they cut a check and let somebody do the rest,” he says.

Marshall agrees, adding that pay-per-click advertising targeted to specific geographical areas is very complex. “There is a severe learning curve for someone to try and learn to manage it effectively,” he says. “It’s very time consuming to do it on your own.”

To join the program, florists set a budget, indicate what geographical area they want to target and share information about what makes their business unique.

ReachLocal directs traffic to a proxy version of the business’s exist­ing Web site with a proprietary phone number that ReachLocal owns. Gor­don says that through this mechanism ReachLocal can report how many clicks and phone calls the florist received from the ad. The reporting provides proof of the value of the florists’ investment, Marshall adds, allowing florists to adjust their budget based on its success.

There’s a call-out box at the bottom featuring comments from RHD’s Sean Greene discussing the value of IYP. There’s also a discussion of brands and larger companies using “geotargeting” where they have local stores or outlets. The article and the comments still fail to get the point that local is really about leading a consumer from the Internet to a POS.

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Related: ReachLocal opens Cleveland office.

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