Market is very competitive now a day, and it’s often a challenge for local businesses to make themselves recognized especially when they’re just starting up. Local online marketing is an excellent way to reach potential customers and grow your business.
“Things nearby me” is the most searched keywords now a day by people.
Can u imagine – What’s the percentage of this keyword, its 46% of all Google searches – almost close to half.
As per latest Google search statistics, more than 3.5 billion searches go through Google every day, meaning that around 1.6 billion of them are local and the latest Google Maps stats reveal an intriguing bit of data: 86% of consumers use this platform to search local stores and look for nearby businesses
Your potential and future customers are searching the web and using mobile devices to find products and services in their community and appearing in their search results relies on the strength of your local online marketing.
What is local online marketing?
Local online marketing is basically marketing to a local community using the internet and it’s a fantastic way of
- Building a brand’s value
- Forming a relationship with a customer base
- Improving lead generation
- Acquiring new customers digitally
Why there is need for online marketing for local businesses?
As the internet usage is growing so local business owner need to understand the value and power of online marketing.
- It helps to grow your business better
- Boosts your ranking on search page results
- Reach out to new audience
- Increase online traffic
Let us look at the most important strategies which you can apply to boost your local business
- Get a website
In today’s digital world, the majority of people use online search engines to look for products and services they need and if you are not having a website for your business then you may end up giving your profits to your competitor. So having a website is the most important step before you start boosting your local business.
- Confirm your website is mobile-friendly
As nowadays, people do more searches for the things they look for on mobiles only so ensure your website provides a user-friendly experience that enables the potential buyer to engage with your business.
- Work on local SEO
Local SEO sometimes referred to as Local search marketing is an effective way to do local online marketing for your business.
It’s an important process to get yourself searchable online by optimizing your online presence and attract more business based on local searches. Keywords and tags play an important role in this process.
So you need to identify the most locally searched keywords relevant to your business and optimize your website based on those keywords.
Based on locally searched keywords, almost 50% of mobile users visit the stores within 24 hrs.
Working on local SEO will help you to reach your relevant customers and get more leads.
Google Trends is a very powerful and important tool for identifying what terms are popular in your location and for your industry.
- Take advantage of local directories
When we have to search for anything on the internet today, the first choice is Google. Registering your business in Google listings is an easy way to make your business appear in the search list of the customers looking for keywords relevant to your business.
All you have to do is fill the form with this information:
· Address
· Directions
· Phone Number
· Hours
· Link to website
You can also add up a few photos to give people a better idea of how you operate.
You can ask customers to write reviews about your local business for other people to see.
You can list yourself at other directories like Yahoo!, Bing and Justdial.
Listing on these sites can help you drive local traffic and improve your local online search ranking. - Run a local Ad campaign
Local ad campaigns allow us to target relevant customers demographically and geographically. You just have to add a few text lines, a budget, local extensions, some assets, and the rest is optimized to help customers find you.
You can use Google Ads and pay per click campaigns to drive local traffic. These ads will help you reach potential customers that are interested in your business.
- Use Social media to engage the audience
People have a busy life now a day and they generally prefer to go to the stores they trust. If you want the customer to scroll your business website then you really need to create visuals that are a feast for their eyes.
Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest are great places where you can establish your online presence and draw a customer in your world.
You can run local ads on your Facebook page and make a reach to potential customers relevant to your business.
You can establish direct connections with your relevant customers on Twitter and you can network on Linkedin both at the personal and company level to reach out to potential clients.
- Video Marketing
Video contents are ruling social media nowadays. You can make promotional and informative videos about your business and post it on your social media platforms. You can put up your videos on youtube channel as well.
In order to get engagements, you must add content that is relevant to your business and people would like to view - Post Testimonials
You can ask your customers to put reviews and comments about your business as they have the ability to shape the opinions of the people in their circles.
Their comments will help to improve the credibility of your brand and will also boost your SEO.
Your rating given by the customer is one of the factors used by the consumers to decide whether they will buy from your local business or not.
Almost, 94% of the customer prefers to buy from online stores with good ratings. - Influencer Marketing
To take your online local marketing to next level, you should identify the local influencers locally and leverage them to influence your business potential buyers and drive a brand message to your relevant market.
As these influencers have a large social following so u can pay them to do local online marketing for your business on their distribution channels and increase your reach.
You can collaborate with local bloggers, YouTubers, or Instagrammers who have extremely high engagement rates with their followers and can influence purchase decisions in your region. - Join the online community
As a successful business owner, Networking is the most essential skill he needs to have.
For every niche segment, you can search online communities on social media platforms and get involved in it.
After joining communities, you shouldn’t simply start promoting your business as it may most likely annoy some audiences. You just need to remain active in the communities by participating; contributing and building rapport firstly and then you can subtly promote your business by sharing your website link
Joining a local group is a great way to stay connected with residents and other business owners. - Run Giveaway or contest
You can hold an online contest through which participants can enter on social media and collect their prize in person.
You can also offer discounts or free giveaways if shoppers engage with your social media profiles, share their purchases, or tag the business on Facebook or Twitter.
Conclusion
These are the Powerful Ways to Use local Online Marketing to Boost Local Business and position your business as an industry leader in your local area.
Please do share your experience after implementing these strategies. If you’d like to discuss how these hacks can help your business or brand, then please drop us an email or leave your contact details and we will be happy to schedule a free consultation with one of our Experts.