Why 'Where and How' You Shop Online Can Make a Difference to Local Entrepreneurs & Economic Balance
Updated: Dec 10, 2022

Op-Ed On Local Love...
Let's face facts. We ALL shop online at some point or another. Whether we strongly support our local businesses with occasional cash mobs and cliquey "community" group gift card rackets or simply shop small every Saturday, we all end up doing some shopping online... and you're even allowed to use any branded prepaid debit cards to shop your favorite online eGift Cards.
Maybe we put in some effort to discover local suppliers or browse a storefront inventory to find only that they don't carry that brand or have that item in stock at the moment. Sure, we ask around, we explore local webstores online, we ultimately SEARCH for what we are looking for using various methods to arrive at an actionable decision to purchase something online from a second-party vendor or direct-to-consumer internet retailer. More often than not, that decision to buy online leads to our local online business economy losing sales.
"...that's business, eh? WRONG!"
As a student "web master" for the past decade I've learned how to design and develop websites that deliver quality content original to viewers like you. Along with that goal of unique media presentation online, I want to monetize my website(s) in a way that is professional and effective. A business model that gives back to those customers who give my business their purchases and praises. The end goal is to provide up-to-date local content and web resources for daily traffic.
Shopping IS Psychological so Be More Logical and Less Psycho...
Getting things direct as a consumer is fantastic. Buying things knowing the proceeds contribute locally is fulfilling. Shopping online enables the benefit of seemingly endless options to choose from at the tip of your fingers and the blink of an eye. Society trains all of us to know how to shop online for the best of the best. Knowing where to shop online is what can make this activity an economically viable one that generates ongoing local value IF you can accept to change your shopping habits. Changing your behaviors to align with this concept I'm describing could be priceless to local entrepreneurs and economic balance as a whole.
Seem epic? It is...
Don't Let Ease Become Ignorance
As an online shopper, shopping online, all you have to do is click or tap to get the offer online. Did you know that there may be local sellers, resellers and affiliate marketers promoting exactly what you're looking for online?! Because Marquette business owners and web entrepreneurs are competing with an oversaturated third-party B2B market and customers have their own choice of apps and shopping portals, genuine local offers often go overlooked, or in the least, under appreciated.
No longer. SearchMQT is here.
Modern Ecommerce's Model for Local Small Business Attrition
The problem is that we all have so many options to accomplish our goals online. And multiple corporate solutions' monopolies that vacuum our collective data(s) and profile information's. Regardless, whether by Murphy's Law or hard factual statistics about business success and local shopping pride vs. action; local businesses continue to seek customers online and local customers continue to seek the products or services businesses online offer.
The highest valued websites are those that a) bring people together, b) provide for transactional processes to occur which enable fees per purchase to accrue millions in revenue and c) create a Marquette Place center for those people together to get something back for their "self-posted-content-contributions". Yeah. That thing you scroll infinitely is just a list with an algorithm.
Layer on top of that the cookies we all accept to allow our personal information and data to be transferred and tracked between websites. Personally, I'm okay with that.
Not where the value goes
Again, it's all these options, that are undoubtedly a solution for some problems local small businesses face, but I see all these options diverging our collective commercial authorities. Essentially, divesting our resources to outsourced entities who have no reinvestments back to our community other than what that singular local paid for the third-party service to make of it what they can as a lone business operator, or rather, less than what a greater combined local community effort like Search~Marquette might be with your support and participation.
A Local Marquette Place Online
Help reach the local Marquette audience around us on an ACTUALLY LOCAL, beneficial place! A place online that local sellers, marketers, and buyers like you can align together within our online shopping journeys. Custom Pages. Website Backlinks. Sponsored Articles. Rev-Share Ad Network. Affiliate Members. eCommerce Solutions and Resources Online. This community website can create content channels to capture commissions and contribute value back to Marquette today. Your awareness starts now. Read more if you're interested.
The 'Where and How' Answered
When you shop online, your choice is a pivotal factor in determining HOW the profit margins are distributed and WHERE the commissions end up... Help #keepcommissionslocal and start your online shopping journey "locally" at the Marquette Place. This local content showcase website is bringing together Marquette news, favorites, requests and recommendations all-in-one convenient to search "Marquette" place. As members and partners participate, so to will the content featuring over 2000 keyword triggered local search promotions and web partner offers.

Custom Design. County in Mind
This brief article is about why simply choosing to shop online using the SearchMarquette website and web solutions is of benefit to our local Marquette COUNTY economy. Bringing the endless options of the internet together for your convenience to browse through in a county-branded-concept. Interest based ads, enhanced custom search engine and localized content marketing are some of the sustainable methods used to fund overhead expenses and ongoing operations. From the security of your mobile devices anywhere there is internet, searchmarquette.net.
Why post all your content to corporate social media?
Using top web solutions, tools and resources to collect, protect and present local content online, starting early 2022, Marquette, Michigan has an upgraded web portal to browse the internet which brings together the best local deals, info, specials, coupons, and other online only offers. Search Local First. Bookmark the SearchMarquette.NET homepage now or Add it to your mobile Homescreen for quick access daily! The more you use the site the better it will get.
As a local content database that accepts user-generated content, #SearchMQT Shared Gallery and other Member Sections allows members to add content like albums of photos, videos with link-in-bio capability, comments, gifs and other media creations about Marquette. These creations can be credited to copyrighted professional owners or DIY sole proprietors and other local web entrepreneurs like me. Appropriate aliases accepted. Content is moderated for quality.
Where web solutions and how to make a difference locally meet...

SearchMarquette IS a local internet media publisher accepting your content submissions, collaborations and contributions towards our local web start-up. A content community.
Be the change you want to cause
If you so desire to take additional action, contact me (G. Paquette) about your web site/page or promotional ideas to see if we can discover a win-win solution using the resources I have and your idea(s)?! Help grow our local web portal. Add your content online. Search. Marquette.