Nobody Searches for My Web Site. So What?

It’s true; nobody searches for anything on the Iron Range. I don’t mean literally nobody, but in the big bad world of search, searches for northern MN are insignificant. It’s interesting, however, that our second most profitable industry under iron ore mining is tourism. And we all know that about 80% of online users use the Internet for travel information. So, how come nobody’s looking up here?

Well, there could be lots of reasons. First of all, it could be that the largest chunk of tourists visiting the Iron Range has purchased lake homes or come year after year for the same fishing trip. It’s a small area; the same little bars exist year after year and the locals expect to see the same faces during the tourism season. But on the other hand, locals continue to hear these words: “What’s going on around here? Where are the “good” restaurants and where are the “cool” bars?” Because when people finish snowmobiling, skiing, ice fishing, whatever…they wander into town snooping around for stuff to do. Wouldn’t they be interested in a local entertainment and dining guide? My guess is that they would; they just don’t necessarily search for it before they come here. Hmm....maybe tourists don’t expect the Iron Range to be “with it?”

Or maybe, just maybe, my niche doesn’t require huge search marketing. Just about 80% of my traffic has been created through PR efforts and local, traditional marketing and advertising tactics. Yes, I do PPC for anyone who might consider heading to northern MN, and some traffic has been received. My ratio of 50% new 50% returning traffic holds firm. Do local newspapers invest in large PPC budgets? I would have to say, no. Their core audience is local; nobody local searches for the place they live unless they’re looking for zip codes or phone numbers via online directories. It’s their vast amount of content that gives them organic prominence to the non-locals searching. No need for big budget PPC in a small town, non-competitive market.

Ah-ha! More content. (Well, duh.) That’s the answer I feel will create more and more visits to my little local entertainment portal. It’s the “blogging” about the area I live in that will bring people to my site. Let’s get some local video on there. Let’s face it: there’s nothing I can do to create “more searches” for my product. And the locals enjoy reading about themselves. But my job (I think) is to give them something different—something “off the wall” or funny or slightly risqué to create attention. I mean, who the heck needs another world news site on the Internet? Let’s have some fun…