Marketing for local businesses online is keep customers coming through the door. Every business has a different market, a different location and a different customer base. Your local business must tap into all three of these areas if you want to be successful and profitable.
Maps
Your business must be searchable on a map when people are using search engines. Every search that is even remotely related to your area must return your business as a result. You need to make sure your business has been listed with every search engine that features maps, and you need to make sure your business is marked on that company’s map of your area.
Google Maps and Bing Maps are the two most popular sites out there, and you will lose many customers if they cannot find you through these search engines. However, someone who is looking for a business like yours will see your business on the map and see your website as a search result. This combination of information makes it much more likely that a customer will choose your business.
Social Media
Social media marketing is the next frontier in marketing for every business. Your business may have social media accounts, but those accounts need to be managed with marketing in mind. A marketing company can help you create a social media page that will attract customers, and your social media page can become a search result when people are looking for businesses like yours in your area.
Local SEO
Local SEO is the most important part of your marketing campaign. You need to have content on your website that speaks consistently of your location. Your location will bring in more people in your area than anything else. Also, your location will pique the interest of people who will be visiting near you.
If you are located outside Atlanta, you want to make sure all your content refers to your presence outside Atlanta along with the name of the city where you are located. Anyone who is visiting Atlanta will find your business in a search result for Atlanta businesses. Also, people who are visiting family in Atlanta will find you in the same way. Your business must be available to everyone who is traveling anywhere near you.
AdWords
Google AdWords is the best way for you to quickly monetize your website. The website for your business may seem like an afterthought to you, but you can make money from your website that has nothing to do with online sales. You can sell products on your website, but you can use AdWords to make money from visits to your site. Also, you can use AdWords to market your business to people who have searched for or live in your area.
Using SEO and marketing correctly is the only way to make your business visible. Each step above creates a world where people always see your business when they are searching in your area.
