First of all what is “Local” Internet Marketing
It is definitely not about searching to hire the local “SEO Guy” in town, with that out of mind lets get started, “Local Marketing” is the process of optimizing your website based on targeted keywords to your local area of business.
It has been proven many times over the year that todays majority of consumers use the Internet(Search Engines, Smartphones, App, etc.) as their primary choice when starting a search for local businesses and services. Rarely users visit a page directly.
With today’s GPS and IP Localization technologies the search engines and web apps are capable to pinpoint the exact location of the user, and with that information they are able to prioritize local business, services, and websites over bigger more predominant websites that also optimize for those highly prized keywords.
So without further ado here are 6 Modern Approaches to Local Internet Marketing:
Google Places
Local Internet Marketing starts with listings on local search directories from the various search engines available. i.e. Google, Bing, Yahoo!. The search engines results pages(SERPs) are made out of a combination of organic search(Websites), Maps(Google Places), and Advertisement(PPC). This will help maximize your exposure in places your web site will not apply.
Social Media
Facebook and Twitter among other social networks and tools are the best way to engage and connect with local prospects. If used effectively and you can promote tremendous local traffic to your website and consecutively to your business.
Pay Per Click Marketing
For general information, the primary results of search engines are “organic” and are totally free of charge from search engines. To get on top of the results a considerable amount of SEO(Search Engine Optimization) is needed. Of course we find our shortcut in Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC). PPC can almost immediately place your website on top of the “organic” results for the keyword you want to appear. But I should warn that without the proper skills it can be tricky and expensive.
Customer Reviews
Review sites like Yelp can really dictate the popular opinion and image of your business, services and products. Encourage your customers to write reviews and reward them with discounts or freebies on their next visit. This significantly improve credibility, provide feedback, and build relationships.
Email Marketing
This is the cheapest and most effective way to build a relationship and reputation with your clients and prospects. The costs are minimum and the results generated by an email newsletter campaign are much greater than that of Mail-in Postcards, Magazine and Newspaper Advertising. These newsletters will provide news, discounts, and special promotions from your business to a better targeted audience. These emails are collected though your website and sent to a email marketing application to be managed.
Local Search Engine Optimization (Local SEO)
Local SEO is the process of not only optimizing your site for specific keywords your business wants to target, but also optimize it for your local targeted area. Having a physical address and phone number on all pages of your site. Such information builds trust rank value for your website and will help your website exposure in the “local slots” reserved by the search engines.
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