Do you own a business that depends on local customers? Most brick-and-mortar businesses do very little online advertising or promotion, thinking that investing in internet marketing would be a waste of time for such a small geographic area.
Think again. Local Online Advertising Can Mean Big Business.
Unless your business is the first thing that comes to mind for every person in your local community, keep in mind that approximately 60% of customers use the internet to research products or services online before they make a purchase (according to DoubleClick). And if you need a plumber, you would likely search for “plumber Naperville IL” - in fact, an estimated 30% of ALL internet searches have a local intent.
Other local businesses are catching on fast:
Local Advertising Options
Paid Search Engine Marketing
With PPC (Pay Per Click) search engine marketing, you can target your ads to only appear in a certain zip code. This way you can ensure that your ads are only being seen by the right potential customers. By including your town name in your ad, you increase the likelihood that individuals will click through to your web site - be sure to have your address and phone number highly visible on your landing page. Additionally, competition for clicks is very low for a local business vs. on a national level, so you can expect to pay pennies per highly targeted visitor.
For links to get started with PPC Marketing, read Ten Free Advertising Opportunities for Your Business.
Online Local Directories
Free options mentions in the above referenced article included the extremely popular MerchantCircle.com(USA), TouchLocal
(UK) and Local.com as well as Google Local, Local.Yahoo.com, and Craigslist. The first two also have premuim paid advertising options.
Other paid options include YellowPages.com and SuperPages.com. Both of these sites have partnered with larger portal sites and search engines to increase the number of visitors who could potentially find your listing.
Local Online Media Planning and Buying
There are several very large websites that draw visitors that search for local information, and have the capability of geo-tergeting their ads to your region or zip code.
National sites include Weather.com, Zillow.com, and CitySearch.com.
Regional sites would include local newspapers, television stations, and radio stations that have an online presence.
Key Success Tips for Local Online Advertising
- Local advertising only works when the right people see your ads at the right time. So be sure to target your advertising efforts very specifically. Only bid on keywords that your potential customers would use when considering making a purchase, and use the negative keyword option to remove phrases like “-free”.
- Give your campaigns a good chance at success - if something doesn’t work, you might need to change the wording or placement of your ad. Don’t give up until you’ve tried several approaches.
- Make sure you have a strong, well designed website to steer visitors to. Your ads might be driving a lot of qualified traffic, but if your site looks unprofessional or is difficult to navigate, you may be turning away qualified customers and leads.
3 Responses to “How to Market Your Small Local Business Online”
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June 28th, 2007 at 4:43 am
well thanks for your help.but could u plz direct me on how i can search for sponsors online?
June 28th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
i think it is true if you dont advertise you will not make it in the resale world i have a flea market business and i have to advertise to make it in the flea market business
sincerly edward f vernoy jr / the white elephant resale
October 15th, 2007 at 8:42 am
[…] businesses, especially local businesses, don’t realize that the internet is such a powerful driver of sales and leads - right down to […]