Local Advertising Solutions Perfect for Small Businesses
If you manage a small business in a local community, you know how hard it can be to generate new customer interest. Promoting your business online can be helpful, but only if you tailor advertisements to your specific service area. Otherwise, you’re just paying to reach people who won’t benefit from your products or other offerings. To get the best outcomes for your budget and increase your business’s revenue, implement the following local advertising solutions.
Create Geo-Specific SEO Website Content
Image via Flickr by marcoverch
One of the best forms of local advertising doesn’t even involve paying money. Rather, it involves customizing your website to take advantage of how search engines rank your company. This is known as search engine optimization (SEO), and it can greatly boost both your visibility and conversions.
Statistics from Google show that 73 percent of online activity revolves around local searches, meaning that relevant customers in your area might be searching for the services your business provides. However, if you don’t have a lot of geo-specific terminology on your site, Google won’t have any way of knowing you’re in the service area a customer is seeking. Combat this by adding in long-tail keywords paired with towns or neighborhoods in your area.
In one case study of a Chicago eye surgical center that tried this trick, the results were outstanding. They boosted their revenue in a specific category by 300 percent and performed 33 percent more procedures during their typical off-season.
Partner With Local Companies
Your online advertising doesn’t have to stem from big companies like Google. In fact, 80 percent of customers prefer locally relevant advertising, meaning your company will probably do much better when you spend money on partnering with other local companies.
For example, look into running an ad in your area’s local newspaper or news website. Even better, search for area blogs that have a large following and see if they’ll run an ad for your company. The more coverage you can get locally, the better.
Connect With Influencers
Influencer marketing is a big trend in the advertising world, and for good reason — 70 percent of millennials are influenced by their peers when making a buying decision. If you’re not familiar with the technique, influencer marketing involves connecting with social media users or bloggers who have a lot of followers and asking them to promote or talk about your products.
So on what platforms should you consider connecting with influencers? Facebook was ranked as the No. 1 most influential channel, with as many as 19 percent of customer purchase decisions stemming from Facebook posts. YouTube is also a popular platform, influencing 18 percent of purchases.
When choosing your influencers, try to find people relevant to your area. Chances are, your city or town is home to community-based bloggers. Having a trusted source positively discuss your services greatly increases the chance of community members checking out your business.
These are far from the only ways to advertise your business locally. However, if you’re a small business without a huge marketing budget, these are some of the simplest and cheapest ways to get started.
