How To Help Local Customers Find You Online

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to search engines, local directories, and social networks, the task of reaching customers near your store has become relatively easier. Seize the opportunity and learn some ways to attract new customers by mastering local advertising, mobile marketing, and more.

 

 

The following tactics will help you learn the art of advertising, so make sure to use them if your company only provides local services as helping local customers find you online is a terrific way to boost revenue.

 

 

 

Outlines 

 

 

1. Online Advertising

 

2. Mobile Marketing To Reach Locals

 

 

 

1. Use Online Advertising To Reach The Local Community

 

 

 

Local advertising is a great, affordable (sometimes free) way to connect with customers near you and generate new leads. In this section we will talk about the importance of local advertising, where to advertise to your local customers online and some special advantages of "local" advertising.

 

 

 

Online advertising has changed the way buyers and sellers meet. What used to be phonebooks has evolved into search engines, online directories, review sites, and now social networking sites. Although all of these digital means are available to anyone, anywhere in the world, many of the above provide means of advertising to the local audience.

 

 

 

In this article, we'll cover the basics of local advertising for your business, explore why local advertising is important, the different places you can buy local advertising, and what you can do to limit your reach to a local audience.

 

 

First, you have to remember that the internet is ubiquitous, which means that if you have a bike shop in London, people in Aberdeen will be able to find you online, as will people from Netherlands to Germany. But assuming someone is in Germany, he's not likely to cross a continent to buy something from you, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to waste your advertising money on people in Germany, right ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what makes local advertising different, as your ads are only shown to people who are local to you, who are likely to be - or become - your customers.

 

 

 

The question now is: How do you accomplish local ads online? There are loads of different channels, such as search engines, local directories, comment sites, and social media sites, which are great places to start.

 

 

 

For example, in search engines, you can bid for your ad to appear when people type in certain search terms, it is called Search Engine Marketing. All major search engines also allow you to limit your ads to people in certain geographic locations. For example, if you are bidding for a keyword, like "bicycle repair", you can set up your campaign to bid only if the searcher is within ten miles of a bike shop.

 

 

What else? Well, social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn offer business pages and paid advertising to target local customers, not to mention their ability to know where people are, and like other search engines, you can customize your ads to only show nearby people with a truly relevant local message.

 

 

 

Of course, the local directory and review sites offer advertising opportunities as well. In addition to the listings you've been listed on, which are usually free, you can often bid a little more to get your ad on premium sites, like search results or even on your competitors' listings !

 

 

 

On the other hand, there are some very neat things you can do in local ads to benefit anyone nearby who sees them. First, your message can be tailored to someone who is physically close to your store.

 

 

 

Also, there are plenty of local ad channels that offer some unique features. For example, you might be able to list opening hours, show your ads only during your store's business hours, or you might be able to let people get directions to your storefront directly via a smartphone or device mobile, and let them call your phone number with a single click, or let them browse all the great comments on you.

 

 

 

With this, we knew how local ads can help you find customers close to your business headquarters, and that there are many options for activating local ads.

 

 

 

Remember: Whether you choose to use search engines, social media, directories, or commenting sites, limiting your advertising budget to people close to you, and taking advantage of special local advertising features can help boost your neighborhood business.

 

 

 

2. Reach Local Customers Through Their Mobile Devices

 

 

 

 

 

Take advantage of mobile and local ads complimenting each other to reach customers near you. In this part we will explore the importance of finding your site in local search results, use of mobile features such as GPS and applications and use paid advertising to reach a local audience on the go.

 

 

 

Many of us use smart phones, what do you think of talking about mobile devices, and how they can help connect your business with your customers near you?

 

 

 

We'll show you how mobile technologies — from maps and apps, to paid ads targeting those near you — can help you bring more customers to your door.

 

 

 

This is interesting, isn't it? So let's get started!

 

 

 

Today, many people walk with their smartphone in their pocket, and since you are a business owner, you can take advantage of this to reach customers near you.

 

 

 

First, let's look at how mobile works with local business.

 

 

 

Surely we've all used mobile devices to find the nearest shop to your house. Suppose you're riding your bike around town, and the chain breaks all of a sudden, if you have your phone, you'll probably start looking for the nearest bike shop. From business, what can you do to increase your chances of appearing when people need you?

 

 

 

First, of course, you have to make sure your business is listed in local directories, review sites and search engines, and maybe take advantage of some local advertising opportunities as well. But let's talk about how to harness the power of mobile devices to bring in local customers.

 

 

 

The first thing you need to do is make sure that your location looks good on mobile devices, and includes your contact information. Then, you can take advantage of some things that are limited to mobile devices. For example, some people allow websites and apps to use global positioning ‘’GPS", which can locate them and direct them to where they want to go (like that bike shop).

 

 

 

Or, if the site had an app that people could install on their smartphones, it would be able to use the GPS feature to send messages—sell alerts—when potential customers are within a certain distance of the store.

 

 

 

Drawing on the capabilities of these apps allows customers to pre-schedule repairs, find answers to frequently asked questions or even order bicycle accessories. The app can also send reminders of great store events, such as a monthly group bike ride or free maintenance.

 

 

 

Another popular way to work with GPS enabled phones is native advertising, where paid advertising programs help you target the right customer, at the right time and, most recently, at the right place.

 

 

 

Let's say someone hasn't installed your app yet, or maybe they don't even know you exist, and if they're near you and looking for bikes on their phone, with local search, your ad can show up high in the search results because your store is nearby and related to what they're looking for.

 

 

 

Remember that local advertising opportunities can be found in other places as well, not only on the major search engines, local advertising can be through social media sites, directories, comment sites, etc., which is a good cost-effective way to reach local customers.

 

 

 

Think about your own business. How do you combine mobile with local activity? First, to get started, make sure that your customers can reach you online, using any device, and that they have a good experience whether they are using a laptop or desktop, smartphone or tablet.

 

 

 

Then consider using mobile technology, such as GPS and other applications, to motivate your customers with local features and offers.

 

 

 

Finally, if you're running your ad locally, you can target people near you and as they move through your campaigns.

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

 

 

Now you have known how to help local customers find you, it is good to say that your business will be on the right track to advertise its service and show people near by that you exist which will increase your visibility and traffic to your store, also remember that SEO for Local businesses is important as it will direct customers based on targeted keywords.

 

 

Make sure to follow us to know more about local SEO in the next article to help start your business.