SEO Helps MyFavoriteCity Deliver the Local Goods
Dave Deasy spent several years running online and small business-oriented programs for Hewlett Packard and America Online. In 2003, he left the high-pressure corporate life to try his own hand at running a small business. Deasy founded MyFavoriteCity.com, which sells gift baskets and souvenirs from about 20 cities around the country.
He used his own funds to finance the venture and began small, initially just offering gifts and local foods from San Francisco and Pittsburgh.
Today, the Burlingame, CA company has expanded to 20 of the largest U.S. cities and offers some local products from about five more. The firm on track to pull in $1 million in revenue this year, says Deasy.
“It’s a huge market for gift baskets but most companies just offer food,” says Deasy, noting he decided to also offer local souvenirs and travel guides as a way to stand out from the rest of the pack. MyFavoriteGift.com sources products from over 100 suppliers nationwide.
The site markets to several thousand businesses and consumers that it attracts and retains through SEM and telemarketing, as well as e-mail and postcard efforts.
The company performs search engine optimization, buying such key words as “gift baskets,” “gifts” and “souvenirs.” But Deasy concedes he’s nowhere near the top of the rankings, thanks to heated competition in those niches.
Deasy works with businesses of all sizes in manufacturing, hospitality, legal, financial and other services. Once the site has established a relationship with a company or consumer, it stays in touch via e-mails every other month or so and postcards with coupons three or four times a year. The firm also uses outbound telemarketing to existing customers. Going forward, the company may look into producing a small catalog.
The future is bright, feels Deasy. Having experienced 50% year-over-year growth rates for the past couple of years, he thinks the business could possibly top the $2 million annual revenue mark by the end of 2007.
