Improving your local marketing strategy is crucial for small businesses as it allows you to target a larger local audience who are more likely to become your customers. As an entrepreneur, there are several actions you can take to enhance your small business’s reach within the local community. This comprehensive guide offers 14 helpful tips to enhance your local marketing strategy.
Local Marketing
Local marketing aims at reaching a target audience in the identical town or region where your business is situated. This particular component of marketing strategy focuses on individuals within a specific radius of your physical business location, typically determined by a practical driving distance. These individuals are potentially interested in your product or service and could become customers in the foreseeable future.
If you open a restaurant in Red Bank, New Jersey, it would not be beneficial to drive website traffic from Sacramento, California. Rather, you need to use local marketing strategies to make sure that the majority of your target audience is within close proximity of your restaurant in order to dine there or order takeout or delivery.
According to Travis McKnight, senior content strategist at Portent Inc., the most important thing people should do is thoroughly comprehend their target audience and the advantages they can derive from the product or service, and then communicate this information from the beginning.
It is essential for any small business marketing strategy to comprehend your target audience and determine which information should be communicated to them. This becomes even more vital in a local marketing approach, where emphasizing your business’s location is paramount.
The objective of a local marketing strategy is to maximize the efficiency of your advertising and marketing budget. Businesses of any scale can benefit from digital marketing, but for small businesses that are unable to attract a local audience, their marketing expenditure will be fruitless.
Top local marketing strategies you can start today
Any company can start local marketing with a few simple steps that are easy to implement. Below are some quick and straightforward ideas to enhance your business’s local marketing efforts.
1. Optimize Your Website for Local Users
Is your website optimized for local users, as website optimization is crucial for driving traffic and is essential in any digital marketing strategy? Here are some methods to optimize your website for customers in close proximity.
Make sure that your website can be easily accessed and navigated on mobile devices.
Heather Lodge, owner and chief strategy officer at Werkflow Digital, emphasized the importance of developing a mobile-friendly website for businesses in order to attract local customers and deliver an excellent mobile experience.
Lodge pointed out that over 50% of website traffic is generated by mobile devices. He also emphasized that by designing a website to be visually appealing on small screens, with easily readable text and accessible buttons, it will be more effective in attracting local customers.
Make your website more localized.
Determining keywords and key phrases based on local SEO is essential for every well-performing business website, as it adheres to search engine optimization (SEO) best practices. Employing keyword research to inform your website content is crucial for effective optimization.
Consider asking yourself, “What are the commonly searched terms by the local market on Google?” It is advisable to regularly refer to your community or nearby communities. For instance, if your target audience is regional, you could incorporate phrases like “providing services to the tristate area.”
2. Update Title Tags and Meta Descriptions on Your Website
McKnight stated that individuals mainly need to focus on the meta description and title tag when ensuring that their website’s title tags and metadata are up-to-date.
Title tags, which consist of 60 characters, are what search engine users see on the SERP. Ensure that your title tag remains both relevant to your brand and location while keeping it under 60 characters in length.
The meta description, although not heavily considered by search engines for rankings, can enhance click-through rates by indicating to users the specific nature of the content expected on the webpage, while also adhering to a limit of 160 characters.
McKnight emphasized that having a high-quality meta description could greatly enhance the click-through rate according to the data. Conversely, if a restaurant or similar establishment aims to encourage calls, including a phone number within the meta description would be extremely beneficial.
3. Set Up Local Landing Pages For All of Your Business Locations
To enhance your localization endeavors, it is recommended to establish a distinct landing page on your website for each of your business locations in case you have multiple branches.
Lodge noted that companies frequently have numerous locations, yet fail to provide information about these locations on their website. According to Lodge, it is important for these pages to contain details about each location, including directions and operating hours.
The content on these pages ought to incorporate precise details about your business. For instance, aiming at being more than just a “real estate agent,” a professional based in Nashville, Tennessee should integrate the crucial term “top real estate agent in Nashville.” This term not only informs search engines about the agent’s location but also contributes to presenting search results to a localized target audience.
When it comes to searching for real estate agents, people are not looking for just anyone; they have high preferences for the “best” or “leading” real estate agents.
4. Claim your Google Business Profile Listing
Setting up your Google Business Profile is one of the simplest and most efficient methods of local marketing that you can implement right away. The profile, previously called Google My Business, offers search engine users important details about a business, including its location, operating hours, directions, contact information, and other relevant information on the search engine results page (SERP).
McKnight urged individuals to seize ownership of their [Google Business Profile] knowledge panel and ensure its accuracy. It is crucial for the profile to exhibit up-to-date operating hours and precisely convey any temporary modifications or limitations, such as closures during holidays or the availability of takeout or delivery services.
Lodge advises that you should also assert ownership of local listings on third-party platforms like Yelp. The greater number of locations where users can discover your business, together with its specific details, will positively impact the effectiveness of your local marketing efforts.
5. Local Reviews From Local Customers
When being cautious online, one of the initial things that individuals tend to notice is the reviews provided on the GBP listing. A favorable review or endorsement holds the power to prove to nearby consumers that your business is reliable.
How can one acquire reviews, as they are crucial in guiding customers through the sales funnel towards conversion or purchase?
Receiving negative reviews? Not an issue.
Gaining valuable customer information can be accomplished by utilizing negative reviews.
By reaching out to the customer and rectifying their poor experience, product, or service, you not only gain the chance to improve your products or customer experience (CX), but also to transform a negative review into a positive one by providing insight.
6. SEO Optimize Your Website
In order to successfully penetrate the local market with your brand and product, the subsequent action to take is enhancing your website’s performance for natural search results. The primary method for achieving this is through keyword optimization. Although initially some aspects of this may seem obvious, sooner or later you will exhaust your inventive thinking and necessitate conducting keyword research.
The competition for short-tail keywords is intense, and it is highly likely that someone who has been in the industry longer than you is already ranking for them. Therefore, it is advisable to shift your focus towards long-tail, geo-specific keywords. These are particularly advantageous as individuals utilizing long-tail keywords generally have a clear idea of what they are looking for (they are not merely browsing) and are more inclined to actively engage.
If you are a digital marketing company targeting businesses in a specific area, it is essential to use geo-specific keywords. Optimizing your content solely for general terms like “marketing” or “digital marketing” would be pointless as that opportunity is no longer available.
Instead, make location-specific and niche-focused pages on the website that incorporate long-tail keywords. As an instance, you could craft a webpage or blog post entitled “Digital marketing strategies tailored for B2B Companies in California” or “Advantages of digital marketing for B2B companies in California.”
The point is clear. SERPs will display outcomes for individuals searching for “digital marketing companies near me.”
7. Create Localized Content
Starting with content that addresses your customer’s pain points and is evergreen is crucial for attracting a specific audience, which is an integral aspect of inbound marketing.
Creating good content requires effort and there are no easy ways to achieve it. Engage in thorough research, write with the audience in mind, and Google bots will also appreciate it. Examples of content formats that we particularly appreciate include “how-to” blogs, whitepapers, eBooks, infographics, videos, and long-form blogs consisting of more than 900 words.
By doing so, your website’s content can assist potential customers in discovering your website when they search for solutions. For instance, if a user inputs a specific keyword like “best flowers for weddings,” Google will display relevant ads connected to the search term.
Additionally, it yields organic outcomes, with the added benefit of generating “People also ask” (PAA) inquiries. These can serve as inspiration for generating new content ideas, such as utilizing them as a reference for creating fresh material.
By incorporating content marketing into your local online marketing strategy, you will observe improved outcomes for your business as this type of SEO-rich and valuable content draws in new site visitors and solidifies your brand as the foremost expert on the topic.
8. Review Your Website’s Design
Your website’s appearance and overall experience hold the same significance as the words and content that enhance your visibility on search engines. While keywords attract visitors to your site, it is the design and user experience (UX) that retain their interest.
Incorporate visual content, such as images and videos, on your website that depict your location, neighborhood, and business to establish a clear association with your local entity. It is important to note that the internet is constantly evolving in line with the changing needs of consumers.
If your website was cutting-edge in design when you launched it five years ago, it may no longer meet current standards. Consider redesigning it to prioritize your users’ experience, which is the utmost significant aspect to protect on your website.
The website needs to ensure simplicity in use, navigation, and comprehension.
9. Integrate CRM Tool
How does the CRM system collect prospect data from your website and integrate it effectively?
One option to consider is incorporating a pop-up on your website. This pop-up could serve as an invitation for visitors to subscribe to your newsletter, access exclusive promotions, or be informed about upcoming product launches. By integrating it with your CRM system, your lead generation landing pages will also update your CRM automatically.
Your pipeline is not only fed by this, but it also enhances first-party data and targeting to enhance your marketing messaging. Additionally, localized campaigns can be initiated through your CRM.
If the data in your CRM has been captured accurately, then it becomes convenient to recognize and categorize customers and potential customers based on their respective regions. It is important to keep in mind that the output you obtain is directly proportional to the quality of data you collect.
It can be utilized for customized invitations to physical events and immersions, for localized email campaigns, and so forth.
10. Attract Local Visitors Through Google Ads
Google Ads, being a search channel that relies on keywords and location, plays a critical role in complementing SEO efforts for local organic search, as it aids in lead generation and increasing brand awareness. Incorporating other paid media channels alongside Google Ads further reinforces these campaigns’ effectiveness.
Your imaginative text and content focused on finding solutions will aid in capturing your local market until your SEO gains momentum. When establishing your Google Ads, incorporate conversion tracking to optimize your campaigns and shift towards maximum business success.
Furthermore, it ensures that marketing strategies are in line with sales objectives and ultimately contributes to the expansion of the business.
