Local Internet Marketing

I surprisingly get asked this question a lot. Small businesses, especially ones focused on a local customer base, are starting to fully realize the potential of capturing local customers through their websites. Gone are the days when a local business could simply advertise in the yellow pages, the local newspaper (or any other local flyer/community publication for that matter), or radio/TV spots and generate a decent return on those marketing expenses. Did you realize that over 40% of Google searches are conducted by local consumers looking to purchase local goods and services?  40%!

The present and future of capturing local customers lies in local Internet marketing. And no I’m not talking about just throwing up a pretty looking website and hope customers find it online. Any website design company can do that but really what problem is this solving? This is not a contest of what local business has the best looking website. You, as a local small business owner, need to view your website as a significant distribution and marketing channel for your business and a potentially huge driver of revenue if marketed properly. That’s where local Internet marketing comes into play. A quality internet marketing firm can create a comprehensive internet marketing strategy that will not only provide a good looking website, but will also position your website, through various complimentary services, to reach the most amount of potential customers as possible. Location is everything in the real world and it is no different on the Internet.

What kind of services does a local Internet marketing firm provide?

So glad you asked.  Internet marketing firms generally employ a wide range of internet marketing strategies designed to help local businesses secure an online presence (website), cost-effectively drive traffic to the website, and help convert the traffic into happy (and hopefully recurring) paying customers. The most common of these Internet marketing strategies are: search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click advertising (PPC) management, social media marketing, local search maps optimization, email marketing, and online reputation management amongst others.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization in simple terms is a process employed to get your website ranked on the first page of search engine results, ideally in the top spot. This is extremely important as the highest ranked website for a given keyword gets over 40% of the clicks. Basically, search engine optimization is designing webpages focused on targeted keywords, making sure the search engines can read the code on your website properly, and increasing the relevance and popularity of said webpage in order to rank high on the various search engines. Search engine optimization has two main components: on-page and off-page optimization. On-page optimization refers to techniques that can be implemented on your website to increase your search rankings. These techniques range anywhere from simply bolding targeted keywords all the way to domain name selection. Off-page optimization generally refers to link building. Search engines judge the importance, relevance, and popularity of a given website in part by how many quality websites link to your website. The link building process, when done properly and ethically, takes time and can involve creating articles and press releases that promote your site (article marketing), submitting information to the thousands of directories out there, and becoming active and commenting in forums and other social media outlets.

Pay Per Click Management (PPC)

Search engine marketing (SEM) generally refers to placing ads promoting your website on search engines (e.g. Google Adwords). When these ads are clicked, you as the advertiser pays an advertising fee which is determined by a combination of how much you budgeted and the current rate for your ad placement spot according to the search engine.  Without proper control of budgets/costs, pay per click campaigns can spiral out of control very quickly. A local Internet marketing professional can help you manage your PPC campaigns by helping you select keywords to target, determining the geographic location to target, optimizing the landing page for the ad, and creating compelling, call-to-action ads. An effectively constructed PPC campaign can do wonders for your bottom line.

Social Media Marketing

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace…you’ve all heard of them but have probably avoided spending too much time creating an internet marketing strategy to utilize the social media marketing tools to the benefit of your business. Many small businesses try their hand at Twitter or Facebook and quickly give up after a few months because they haven’t been taught how to utilize these sites properly. I would suggest spending some time learning techniques to incorporate Facebook and Twitter into your internet marketing strategies now, because I don’t think the younger generation is going to stop using these mediums anytime soon.

Online Reputation Management

A potential downside to social media’s rise in influence and information sharing is how quickly reputations can be virtually destroyed. Local businesses should always be tracking what is being said about their businesses online and should be looking for ways to rectify any complaints customers and potential customers may have. Addressing issues before they snowball into a great headache could end up saving you thousands in lost sales.

Email Marketing

The money is in the list…yes even for local business. Email marketing seems to be the most overlooked and underutilized area of local Internet marketing. This is very surprising as regular mail advertising has been around for ages and is still a very popular advertising strategy used by many businesses.  Email marketing is way more cost effective than snail mail advertising and if you believe that having a website is important then you NEED an effective email capture system properly highlighted on your site. Every customer who comes to your site and leaves without making a purchase is an opportunity lost. That person may never visit your site again…but it doesn’t need to be that way. Maybe if you offered a free coupon or discount to visitors by simply signing up for your weekly newsletter, that customer would’ve taken the bait and signed up. In that case you would now be able to market information, events, and deals to that customer that you otherwise would have lost forever. This is such a simple concept yet so many local businesses disregard it as a waste of time, I just don’t understand. However, I will admit that there is a fine line that needs to be monitored when running an email marketing campaign so as not to be considered a spam machine and lose potential customers before conversion.

Local Search Map Optimization

Google is placing a much greater emphasis on local map listings when a query includes a geographic modifier. When a search like this is conducted, Google will return a list of local businesses that are relatively close to the “identified location” AND the businesses Google deems most relevant. This is an important distinction, as Google is not going to just show the businesses that are closest to the potential customer. So how does one go about making sure they are properly listed within the Google Local hierarchy? Go sign up for a Google Places listing to claim your company listing.  This at least gets you listed, however showing up in the highlighted local businesses box at the top of the page is another story. This process, like SEO, takes time and involves building citations and links back to your listing.

Through these descriptions hopefully you’ve gained a greater understanding of what exactly Local Internet Marketing entails and you’re pumped to start employing some of these Internet marketing strategies in your business to generate more customers online. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that my internet marketing firm, Local Marketing Ventures, offers a free website and marketing consultation for small and medium sized businesses looking to take their business to the next level. To receive your free report and consultation simply click the link below:

Local Marketing Ventures Free Consultation