4 Actionable Local Business Marketing Tips
There are many different things you can do for marketing. Digital marketing is one thing that many business owners struggle to understand as there are so many options. Below I outline 4 marketing tips for local business owners that can be implemented today.
Create/ Claim your Google Listing.
Obviously, there is no arguing that everyone goes to Google to search for a local business. According to WordStream 72% of consumers who did a local search visited a store within five miles. (Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics) Making sure that you have your listing claimed is important because it will allow searches (potential customers) to find your location, get directions, hours, and phone number. If you’re not listed or if your information is incorrect then you will lose potential customers.
To claim or create your listing visit: https://www.google.com/business/
If you’re just starting out then you’ll create your listing. If you’ve been in business for a while and you do a search in Google Maps for your company name and your business comes up then you want to claim it.
By having ownership of your Google My Business listing no one else will be able to claim it. You will also be able to control what images and information is shown. Make sure to fill out all the areas. Optimization Tips: In the “About” section you can create links. Make sure to include your main SEO keyword towards the beginning of your About description and link it to your website. Upload images to the photo section. Prior to uploading the files change the filename of the images to your target keyword and a different variation for each image. Upload at least 6 images.
Optimize your website for local search
If you’re a local business people will likely do searches for you or your service & products in their area. 28% of searches for something nearby result in a purchase. (Google, 2016) You will want to include the main city/ area that you are located in on your website. Have your location (city name) in your H1 heading tag on the homepage of your site. Also, include the city/ area in the copy on your homepage and throughout your website.
Bonus Tip: On your contact us page have your complete address and embed the Google maps of your location on the page. If you provide service to a specific area you can embed that area.
Create Facebook ads targeting around your location
In the location targeting options of Facebook you have different options of who specifically you want to target. For example, you can target “Everyone” in a specific area or only target the people that live in that area. Depending on what your goal is you can adjust that accordingly.
Then you set a radius around your business or service area. This will allow you to only target people that are within driving distance of your business or service area.
You will want to craft up a good message to introduce your company and services to this audience. I would recommend offering a special for mentioning Facebook or provide them with relevant information about your company and its offerings.
Create Google Adwords Campaign around local competitor brands
Depending on your budget creating a Google Adwords campaign is a great way to drive sales. Reason being that with Google you can capture someone while they are in the buying process as they are actively searching as opposed to interrupting their news feed. If you have very little budget and you’re in a competitive industry you can create a campaign targeting your competitors names. The CPC (cost-per-click) for competitor names is usually lower than the main target keywords. You know that if they are looking for your competitor who offers a very similar product then you can try to siphon off some of the traffic for yourself.
