Local online marketing differs from usual marketing strategies as it needs to be more precise in targeting and converting local customers. More often, local businesses spend their time and money in online marketing without much gain because their marketing techniques are more general and not serving the local market.
Local online marketing is immensely powerful and these statistics prove it:
- 82% of mobile phone shoppers perform “near me” searches while looking online.
- 50% of mobile users searching for local stores visit the store within one day.
- 78% of location-based mobile searches end up in offline purchase.
It’s important for local businesses and sole proprietors to channelize their marketing attempts in local marketing with the following best practices to serve their businesses the best. Of course, in order for these tips to work, you must ensure that the base of your business is strong—ensuring that your website is user-friendly, your inventory is in order, and your store operations are running smoothly. Now that the base is strong, let's move on to some of the best practices of local online marketing!
Keep Primary Focus on Local SEO:
Rightly pointed out by Moz, Google has become the new “homepage” for local businesses. The reason Google is referred to like the homepage is that users can look at the images, make a call, book a reservation, take a virtual tour, see operation hours, learn about the prices, get the direction without actually clicking at the business link.
Hence, it’s crucial for every local business to be listed as a business profile on Google. With Google my Business, you can create your website by auto-generating information from your business info. You can add all your information to be shown in Google search results and maps when users are searching for it. It also allows you to respond to all your customer reviews and questions via your business page.
Add Regional Specific Keywords to your Website:
The right keywords can help your website rank for local searches in the long-term. Once your site starts ranking for local keywords, you would see high traffic to your website as well as a local store. How to find regional keywords for your business?
Search for your niche with a location in Google and analyze the SERP suggestions. For example: if your business is a day spa in Cleveland, Ohio, then search for “spa in Cleveland Ohio” and scroll to the bottom for search suggestions:
The search results can help you pick many useful keywords like “affordable spas”, “best spas”, “overnight spas” that you can use while preparing content for your website. You can also use the Keyword Planner to find location-specific keywords and choose keywords based on traffic.
Use Geotags and add Location-Hashtags to your Social Posts
Adding geotags to your Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook stories; adding location-specific hashtags to your social posts can help locals discover your content. Geotags are also important in user-generated content when your customers or visitors add your location to their posts and make it discoverable to their followers.
If you’re looking for a complete social media tool to manage your online business, then try Circleboom to publish your posts, schedule them, get your social media analytics. Circleboom can make social media marketing easy for you and you can target locals by using the location filter.
Connect with Local Groups on Facebook
All cities and towns have several local groups that you can join to promote your business. When connecting on any Facebook group, it’s important to not be spammy. You have to be subtle and only share your posts when you have special discounts or promotions.
All local groups have posting rules that you must abide by if you wish to continue posting in that group. Facebook groups can help you reach many active members of your community and location that can be your prospective customers.
Create Location-Specific Ads
Irrespective of the social media platform, your ads should be location-specific so you do not waste any penny. Other than selecting the location, you also have to be mindful of your ad language and visual when creating you ad.
Your ad language and tone should connect with the locals and make them feel that your brand is a part of the community. Leveraging local festivals and events to promote your brand can be important in getting sales and new customers.
Make your Local Online Marketing Successful:
Prioritize local SEO and social media to get maximum advantage from your local online marketing campaigns. Partner with local influencers to reach bigger audiences and make an impact.
