Did you know that 69% of the total searches on Google are for local businesses? When netizens need to get things done in their locality, they start by searching for it online. So, if you cater to local customers you need to start local online marketing to double down on your local presence.
Here’s everything you need to know (and do) to improve your local presence in 2024.
1. Up Date Your Google My Business Account
Firstly, if you don’t have a Google My Business account you need to get started on that right now! Now for those of you who do have a Google My Business profile but are not receiving a lot of calls or messages, ask yourself if your information is up to date.
Google has changed the way we search for companies in our area. Simply by adding a ‘near me’ to our search, we get a Google map, and contact information of all the potential companies we can work with. So, how do you make sure you have an optimized profile? First, check if you have your NAP details online (name, address and phone number).
Once your primary details are approved by Google you should add working hours. Since most offline buyers are making decisions as they search online, having working hours improves customer experience. After all, the last thing you’d want is a bad review because your potential customer came to a closed store.
After setting up your account make sure you support it with a lot of images that shows the interiors and the outside of your store. Knowing how your shop looks saves customers a lot of time, especially when it is in the midst of many other stores, and improves customer experience.
2. Listing in Local Directories
A good local online marketing strategy would look at all possible aspects of local online marketing. This includes local directories. Since local directories work for a specific geo location, they do the filtering for you, and show your business to your potential customers, if your shop/food business is the nearest to them; thereby reducing half your efforts.
The good news is, there’s a local directory for pretty much every business. Platforms like Yelp bring you to your customers with very little effort. Additionally, if you find directories that are specific to your business (like Grubhub for a food business) it lowers your marketing efforts.
3. Encouraging Customer Reviews
Around 76% of netizens say that they check the reviews of a local business before taking their services. You know what that means? You need to encourage customers to review your brand.
Here are some tried and tested techniques to get customer reviews:
- Make reviewing easy: Put customer reviews right at the front of your website and create a user friendly interface for customers to type on and publish their reviews
- Use the same platforms as your customers: Customer reviews come in all forms. They can be a star rating like how you would see on a website, Google, or Facebook, but they can also be a tagged photo on Instagram. Make sure you’re on the same platforms as your customers so that you can get reviews in the form of tags and mentions
- Follow up: A simple message, few days after the service has been completed, can work wonders. Customers who had a good experience with the company are happy to provide good feedback.
- Provide incentives: Aren’t you more likely to buy from a business if they make you feel special? Providing incentives like discounts and offers to customers who give you a review, encourages them to share their thoughts on your products and services
4. Optimizing Your Website
Local or not, having a website improves your presence in the online world. It firstly helps you stand out from your competitors who may or may not have a website.
Google lets vendors create single page websites from your Google My Business page. This is particularly helpful for local service based businesses like local photographers, printing companies, etc. However, if you want to stand out, you should create your own website. A personal website will give you a range of options to represent your brand (like adding videos, customer reviews, case studies and so much more).
Additionally, when you independently create a website, you can conduct local online marketing with unlimited hyper local content.
Remember that having a website is not enough. The website must be optimized for the search engines for customers to consider your products and services. Imagine finding a business through a local search and then landing on their exceptionally slow website. You will mostly close the website tab and never look into that business again. Working with a reputable local online advertising company will resolve this issue to a great extent, making sure you have a fast and responsive website.
5. Social Media Handles
Another platform, or rather a group of platforms, that helps you stand out locally are social media platforms. Now each platform excels for different types of businesses, for instance, we have Instagram and TikTok for visually aesthetic, lifestyle-oriented companies, Pinterest for creative businesses, LinkedIn for business etc.
Marking your presence on a few social media platforms can make a big difference for your business. Most social media platforms allow you to make local searches, either through hashtags, or by setting the location. Hence having your location right in your bio or adding a location to your posts can make a massive difference to your local online presence.
6. Local Ads
Lastly, while organic marketing methods act as a base for your brand, local ads further your horizon for meeting new potential customers. They are a must, at least in the beginning, when you are trying to get the word across. Creating local ads for popular search engines and local directories, can help you get the word across and establish yourself as the expert much faster.
Setting up local ads can be a bit of a challenge. To get the best results, you should work alongside local online marketing agencies who will do keyword research, create ad copies and manage your ads for you so that you can put all your focus on serving your customers.
Conclusion
So here are a few ways to build your local presence. If there’s one thing we want you to take away from this article to focus on a multi channel local presence. Do you need help with your local presence? Feel free to get in touch with us. We have more than 12 years of experience and have been known to provide the best online marketing services for small business.
