Customers love to buy from businesses that they know, like, and trust.
A very important piece of that process involves visiting the internet to learn all about the local shops your potential customers would like to peruse. How do you put yourself at the top of their social and Google searches so you can rock the local marketing game?
Get to the front page of organic searches
Because people localize their searches you’ll want to have your address listed on your web pages -- a lot!
Basically, when people are trying to find something local they’ll search something like this: Lima Ohio Marketing Company. This means the best search engine optimization practice for local businesses is to add their full name and address on most pages of their website. This will also help you reach the front page when people are searching your city’s name and zip.
Another best SEO practice is to naturally place your local towns and neighborhoods into sentences. For instance, "Scenically located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains," or, "Our building is a part of historic Boston, located in Dorchester next to Pope John Paul II Park."
Another quick tip is to start using the words and phrases that you most often hear used by your customers. You can do this by using Google Keyword tool or wordtracker.
List yourself on online directories
Online directories are one of the best ways to ensure the information displayed typically on the front page of organic searches is accurate. You’ll need to list/claim and update your business with directories like Google, Yelp, Bing,Yahoo, Dex, etc. A great (and easy) way to do this is to take advantage of programs like Yext.
Yext provides businesses Digital Location Management software and solutions that help you leverage location-based technologies to drive foot traffic in your local stores. It’s a powerful, and scalable, location content management system.
Yext lets you store and manage information about your locations, everything from the basics to enhanced content. It’s a location database of record for marketing and more, letting you control your company listings across hundreds of global partners, including Apple Maps, Bing, Facebook, Yahoo, and Yelp.
Give search engines your profile
Another way to appear on the top of search engines results is to fill out your profile information. Google, Yahoo, and Bing all encourage local business owners to fill out their profile with as much detail as possible. This way you have a better chance of appearing toward the top of highly targeted local searches.
The best way to do this is to fill your profile out with products or services you offer, how long you’ve been in business, your range of clients, and the size of your staff. That way a customer has a better chance of latching onto these phrases.
Don’t forget social media
Social media is one of the best ways to keep up with your customers and engage with them. You’ll want to figure out where your customers are hanging out online and begin promoting your business there. For instance, if most people in your town are on Facebook, focus on creating great content there. That’s not to say you shouldn’t have a presence on other social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, etc.), but do make sure you’re active where your customers are!
By becoming savvy in social media you’ll be able to be more visible and improve your search results. And by sharing ideas and educational content that is relevant to your industry you’ll be able to position yourself as a leader.
Pay attention to what people are saying
If people are searching for local companies, most likely they care about what others in the community are saying. People care about the opinion and experiences of the family and friends, and reviews are being extremely influential. It can be a matter of shopping with you or finding someone else.
Negative reviews are something that could eventually happen to anyone. Don’t be afraid of them, it’s actually better to know about issues customers may be having so you can fix them. That way you can be on your way to fixing your relationship with the customer.
When you receive a negative review, acknowledge it and do your best to fix it. To keep track of what people are saying about you try a program like HootSuite, SproutSocial, Yext, Mentions or Google Alerts. (There are many others out there but these are a few of our favorites)
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