Today, people are “on the go”, searching their phones while walking, while chatting, watching TV. They are looking up where to go in search of something that has become second nature.

Now it’s up to a company to advertise where people are looking or they will lose new business. Can they exist only by word of mouth or from existing businesses? Perhaps, at least for a while. However, there is a strong doubt.

Small businesses that advertise where people are searching will establish a relationship with their new customers, who will in turn go to the company’s pages online and leave recommendations and reviews, which other searchers will see.

Businesses that don’t advertise online will lose out entirely. It is difficult for some business owners to understand the changes in the market and the special urgency to change, and how important these changes are for their business. The new form of marketing, derived from new electronic devices, is as powerful and fast as an approaching freight train.

Here are some easy-to-understand rules for small businesses: Starting with the business domain name, especially for your advertising online and in your service vehicles.

When people use their names in a dot com address, they must first assume that their name is not known. It may also be important to them, but not to a potential client looking for… not Michael Brown, but a painter or a dentist. If small businesses want to be found by NEW customers, they have to learn very quickly that they need to buy a new keyword domain for a few dollars in order for Google, Bing or Yahoo search engines to find them.

A potential customer goes online, to find a business, they will search (as in my example) for a dentist (and therefore they will not find dentists all over the country or the world, they will most likely search for dentists in their hometown). .

The best domain name for advertising might even be: Dentist John Smith dot com, as a simple example. What your business is or does should come first, because that’s what people use as a search term. Your name is secondary and may be elsewhere on the business page. People who don’t know the name certainly won’t be able to enter it into the search, nor will people who already know the name – go online and search for them, they don’t need to.

Also, ads like, “I’m the number one dentist in America’s hometown.” they won’t stop generating impressions either. Searchers who find a business see previous customers who have used the business before, often leaving reviews. These comments can be devastating to any business if they are negative. For a company, especially a “service” company, such as a doctor, dentist, cosmetic surgeon, etc., ignoring the power of feedback, whether positive or negative, is extremely important.

Surprisingly, I have rarely encountered serious abuse of feedback by a consumer. Like anything, one has to take comments, both positive and negative, lightly, and talk to the business owner if he has any questions.

When someone moves from one state to another, they immediately go online, search for resources on their new home through Google and reviews from people who have used a particular business. If they find a negative comment, they continue looking for others, without wasting time. Then you will see how incredibly important your online visibility is to your business.

Another difficulty for companies seems to be the choice of domain names. Most take the word “name” to mean their personal name, not a name that someone who doesn’t know them personally would connect with their business.

It is extremely important to get a domain name that describes the type of business you have. A domain name that helps search engines find your business.

Let’s say you really are the best dentist in hometown America, wouldn’t you like to be recommended online: Google or Yelp places (and many other sites) for all the world to see?

The most important thing, right now, NOW, is to fully understand the unprecedented rate at which technology is advancing: cloud computing will help make all search and everything else online even faster, more instantaneous, Companies that ignore the changes or do not take them very seriously will undoubtedly be left behind in the dust that their commercial competition, which heeded the warning, is leaving behind.

Companies have to make changes and they have to make changes now, if the company wants to survive. As a business owner, you need to understand the principles of online search, also called SEO. (Search Engine Optimization)

AGAIN: Your name is not of great importance to a new customer, but what your business does is of the utmost importance. It is “sink or swim” for the survival of your business.

You’ve worked so hard all these years, now is the time to protect your investment in your business.