Gaining Visibility

ANNA CURRY founded Top of Search with the best resume possible – real-world experience to back up her plan to help local, small businesses grow.

“My marketing career began by helping to launch ordinary people’s ideas,” says Curry. “I worked with a PBS show called ‘Everyday Edisons.’ We traveled the country holding casting calls looking for the next great ideas. A year or so later, Edison Nation launched. And, I built and managed the Direct Response division.”

During her time there, Curry helped with the TV launch of sixty-plus consumer products that were developed and marketed.

“My own product Hot Huez went through this process, so I can say, as an inventor, it feels like winning the lottery!”

Her time on the other side of marketing really helped her see what did and did not work.

“I learned and saw firsthand what it takes to build a business,” says Curry. “And, the disappointing losses gave my marketing career the perspective it needed. From an early age, I was a keen observer. I could blend into environments. Partly because I am shy, but also because I have a real curiosity for human behavior. This interest led to opportunities in my professional career and realizations about myself.”

This includes finding out that she enjoyed studying consumer behavior and that she was most fulfilled when she could demonstrate how she I was generating revenue for a business.

“Local search marketing has the potential to significantly impact a local business’s bottom line. Before launching Top of Search, I had worked as a marketing generalist,” she says. “Work was tactical and less strategic with marketing plans focused on the output and not the outcome. A focus on the outcome required a deeper specialization on my part, so I began putting in the work to make it happen. At the same time, I also began to share with my network that I envisioned launching a consultancy.”

When an opportunity presented itself to work on marketing for a local cabinet and countertop company, Curry knew it was one she could not pass up.

“I took the leap and went out on my own and all in with a specialization in local search marketing,” says Curry. “Top of Search, the business name, is literal. I help local business owners gain visibility at the top of Google search results. My value is developing ‘stronger than the competition’ local search strategies. Top of Search offers marketing services designed to grow revenue.”

The firm’s areas of focus are local SEO, as well as brand and content marketing. Services include one-time consultancy, project-based services and full partnerships where Top of Search acts as the marketing arm for the business.

The Wilmington area has no shortage of small businesses, and those numbers will likely only increase as the area continues to grow. “Wilmington’s rapid growth is a great opportunity for the marketing community,” says Curry.

“Newcomers to the area offer businesses the opportunity to attract new customers and increase revenue. A business that has a strong local search strategy in place will have the advantage. They’ll be the business found online by these prospective customers. I work with local small business owners, so I can build a relationship with ownership…and the team. Understanding the people and their roles within an organization gives me a deeper knowledge of the business. And, I use this information I glean to identify what messaging might engage a consumer and set them apart from the competition.”

To view more of photographer Terah Hoobler’s work, go to terahhoobler.com.

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