Marketing is often a challenge that local businesses face. While it might be tempting to think that digital marketing is more straightforward for local companies since they operate in a smaller area and do not have to deal with the exact boundaries of big businesses, this is often not the case. SMEs are under more pressure to offer exceptional service that provides potential customers a reason to choose them over other options.
This blog post will offer ten helpful tips for digital marketing on the local scale, which will help you develop an effective plan to use online marketing techniques more effectively.
1. Optimize Your Google My Business listing
A Google My Business listing is a business page provided by Google where local businesses can fill in their information, including the company name, address, phone number, and website link. These are very important for SEO because you will be using specific keywords in your business title. Keyword research is a simple step that will help optimize your listing and lead to high click-through rates and, ultimately, sales. Here's how to optimize your listing:
a) Fill out all the information available
b) Upload a high-quality profile picture
c) Add links to your social media accounts, especially Google+, because it is the most significant of the four. You can do this by clicking on 'Google+' on the top left corner of your screen and then clicking 'Link existing profile.'
d) Claim and verify your listing. This will make it appear on maps and search results under the map tab, which is very important for local SEO because Google can attribute your business based on this place.
2. Geofencing Campaigns
Geofencing is a buzzword in local SEO. It is the process of using technology to execute marketing strategies and send certain types of content (such as coupons or ads) to people in your customers' geographical area. Geofencing uses GPS and location-based services within mobile platforms such as Android and iOS devices. This allows businesses to send messages or ads to their customers that are within a certain mile radius. You can start this by creating an event on Facebook and then using the location services within the platform to filter down to your geofence area. People who have liked the page will see the event, which means you now have access to potential customers.
3. Geotargeted Search campaigns
Google allows you to target specific locations through search engine marketing. This is important because you can get more mileage from your paid ad campaigns if their content is relevant to the location where people are searching. This means that people in different geographical areas will see ads more targeted towards them, so it's easier to find what they want. To do this, you must first log in to Google AdWords and select 'Settings' from the navigation bar. Then choose 'Ads location options' and tick the box to confirm that you want to target specific areas by adding your zip code, city name, or street address. You can then create ads based on these focused geographical locations.
4. Google Ads Local Campaigns
A Google Ads Local campaign is a paid ad that includes a business name, address, and phone number. These ads only appear in the local section of search results, while others will appear in nationwide searches. This makes it easier for consumers to find what they are looking for quickly because they only have a list of businesses within a specific geographical distance. By utilizing Google Ads Local campaigns, you will capture people within your area who are searching for local products or services.
5. Local Inventory Ads
Local Inventory Ads are displayed in Google's search results when users search for products within a specific geographical radius. This means that people searching for local products or services will be able to see your ad campaign in their search results, which is vital because it makes it easier for them to find what they want. The most important thing to remember is that the accuracy of these ads is based on how up-to-date your inventory or product information is. That means it's vital to monitor which products are in stock and make sure you change the ad campaign if they run out. You can do this by using Google's built-in tools to keep your information up-to-date.
6. Google display and re-marketing
With Google Display and Remarketing, you can create campaigns that appear across the web and show ads to users who have already visited your website. This will help you get more traffic back to your business because people will be reminded of what you offer when visiting other websites, such as news articles or blogs. The benefit of these kinds of campaigns is that you don't have to pay for every single person that views the ad. Google will only charge you when they click on your ad and visit your website. You can target different geographical areas by choosing to show your ads in specific locations or regions.
7. Paid social campaigns
Paid social campaigns allow you to take your online marketing strategy a step further by including platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Social media sites are a great way to interact with your customers and potential clients, which means you can connect more personally. If done correctly, social media campaigns will create awareness for your brand and increase your customer base through likes, shares, and re-tweets. The key to maximizing this platform is by creating content that people want to share with others so you can reach a wider audience. You can also use them to create a unique hashtag for your campaign and encourage customers who enjoy the content to share it with other people on social media.
8. Collect email addresses and keep in touch
Offering a free ebook or guide is a great way to collect emails and stay in contact with your customers. You can also use this as an opportunity to provide more information about your company and the services you offer, which will increase the chance of them contacting you again. Once you have obtained the email address, it's essential to keep in contact. This can be done in a few different ways, including sending weekly or monthly newsletters, emailing people who have ordered from you before, and even posting on social media. These methods will help keep your brand in front of the customer, so it's top-of-mind when they are ready to make a purchase.
9. User-Generated Content
User-generated content is one of the most effective ways to get your online marketing campaign off the ground. It can be used in many ways, such as sharing pictures and videos of users using your product or service on social media, asking them to write reviews, and creating contests to win prizes. This will improve your rank tracking by creating more awareness about your brand and showing other people what you have to offer. UGC is an effective way to create content that can be used for future campaigns or advertisements, which means it's worth the initial time investment.
10. Pay per click (PPC)
One of the most effective ways to boost traffic quickly is by using paid advertisements. You can do this in a couple of different places, including Google search or social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. PPC campaigns are an easy way to catch your customers' attention because targeted advertising only shows up when people are actively searching for the product or service you offer.
A great way to make this more effective is by including a call-to-action within the ad that drives customers directly to your website, which will increase your conversion rate. In conclusion, there are a lot of different ways you can improve your online marketing. The main thing to remember is that each platform has its own set of rules and regulations about how people interact with the content, so it's essential to follow them carefully.
These strategies work best when businesses can combine different types of online marketing for a comprehensive approach. SME businesses should also use SEO tools like a rank tracker to help them with their online marketing efforts since they are more affordable and the return on investment is often much faster. Seabase is an affordable suite of SEO tools to improve your local SEO game and help you get ahead.
