For many businesses, marketing efforts need to reach a local audience. Here are some local marketing strategies for small businesses. Local marketing refers to strategies that target local audiences in close proximity to a business. Local marketing is especially effective for businesses tied to a physical location, such as restaurants, boutique retailers, and professional advisors.

Local marketing is particularly effective for businesses tied to a physical location, such as restaurants, boutique retailers, and professional advisors.

This article is for small business owners who are considering implementing a local marketing strategy that targets an audience close to the location of their business.

Local marketing is an integral part of a larger marketing strategy for small businesses because it allows your brand to reach a wider regional audience that may patronize your business in the near future. But what can you do as an entrepreneur to help your small business reach a local audience? In this guide, we present seven easy and free tips that can instantly improve your local marketing strategy.

What is Local Marketing?

Local marketing is targeting people who live in the same town or area as your business. It targets people who are within a certain radius of your physical location (typically based on reasonable driving distance) and who could realistically purchase your product or service at any time.

For example, if you own a restaurant in Red Bank, New Jersey, accessing your website from Sacramento, California, won’t do much good. Instead, you need to employ local marketing tactics and ensure that the majority of your audience is close enough to be able to drive to your restaurant or order delivery.

Travis McKnight, senior content strategist at Portent, says, “The most important thing is to understand who you are trying to sell to and what benefit they can get from your product or service, and to communicate that information up front.”

This is true for all marketing, he added, but especially so for local marketing strategies. An important piece of information to convey to your audience is where your business is located.

The goal behind a local marketing strategy is to use your marketing and advertising budget more efficiently. Digital marketing is an effective tool for businesses of all sizes. But if you are a local business and your local audience does not support you, your marketing dollars are wasted. Not all traffic is created equal. A local marketing strategy ensures that you target an audience that may patronize your business.

Key Takeaway Local marketing targets people within a certain radius of your business. By focusing your digital marketing on potential customers in your neighborhood, you can increase your conversion rate.

What types of businesses benefit from local marketing?

While many businesses can benefit from local marketing, there are certain types of businesses for which local marketing is absolutely necessary. Restaurants are a good example. This is because restaurants are physical places that offer dine-in, take-out, and delivery services. Restaurants are by nature anchored to their physical location.

Another good example of a business that needs local store marketing is a retail store. These days, even small retailers often have e-commerce stores, and local marketing can increase the number of store visitors and local brand awareness. This is especially important for smaller boutique retailers competing with large chain stores.

Similarly, professional services such as law firms and accountancy firms should employ local marketing strategies. Casting a regional net may be more appropriate for these services, but for professional advisors, it is critical to connect with a primarily local audience. Some firms, such as digital marketing firms, offer completely digital services, but such firms are the exception. However, nothing beats a face-to-face consultation.

There are many companies that need a local marketing strategy, but other types of companies should also consider implementing local marketing. Just because a local strategy isn’t a priority doesn’t mean you can’t reap the benefits of reaching more readers in the town or region where your business is based.

Key Takeaways While all businesses can benefit from local marketing, some businesses that rely on foot traffic, such as restaurants and retail stores, may need a local marketing strategy.

11 Local Marketing Strategies You Can Start Today

Local marketing starts with simple steps you can take to get started today. Here are some quick and simple ideas to improve your business’ local marketing

1. optimize (and localize) your website.

Optimizing your website is key to increasing traffic, but is your website optimized for local users? Heather Lodge, chief marketer at Click & Mortar, says, “In addition to following search engine optimization (SEO) best practices, such as employing keyword research in your website content, you must ensure that your website offers a top-notch mobile experience You must also ensure that your website offers a top-notch mobile experience,” he said.

“More than half of the traffic coming to a website comes from mobile devices.” A nice, streamlined website with big text that is easy to read on small screens and big buttons that are easy to click will make it easier to attract local business.”

In addition to these recommendations (which are important for any digital marketing strategy), the website should also be localized, says Lodge. That means determining keywords and key phrases based on local SEO.” What is the local market searching for on Google?” Ask yourself. A good rule of thumb is to mention your area or neighborhood frequently. If you are targeting local residents, consider adding a statement to your website, for example, “We serve the tri-state area.”

Free keyword research tools such as Google Analytics, Google Trends, and Google Search Console can be used to further improve local SEO insights. The more you optimize your website for local search, the more likely it is that more local customers will visit your web page.

2. update title tags and meta descriptions.

McKnight says another SEO consideration is whether your website’s title tag and metadata are up to date.

“There are several different pieces of metadata, but the majority of people only need to worry about the meta description and title tag.” He says.

The title tag is the 60 characters that search engine users see on the search engine results page (SERP). It is best to keep title tags related to your brand and location shorter than 60 characters, McKnight said.

Meta descriptions are unlikely to affect search rankings, but they can improve click-through rates by telling users exactly what information is on a web page, McKnight added.

Data shows that quality meta descriptions increase click-through rates. Conversely, for a business like a restaurant that wants people to call, it is very important to include a phone number in the meta description,” said McKnight.” Meta descriptions should always be 160 characters or less.”

Title tags and meta descriptions can be edited in the administrator tools of the web hosting platform you are using. For many small business owners, WordPress offers SEO features that are easy to use, McKnight said.

3. establish local landing pages for all locations of your business.

If your business has multiple locations, you will need to create individual pages for each location on your website to further your localization efforts.

Lodge states, “Often, businesses have many different locations, but they don’t have a page on their website with information about those locations. These pages should include information about each location, how to get there, their hours of operation, etc.”

Lodge added that these pages should include specific content about your business. For example, if you are a real estate agent based in Nashville, Tennessee, you should not just list “real estate agent” on your website. Instead, include the keywords “leading real estate agent in Nashville” to tell search engines where the agent is based and to provide results to your local audience. It also takes into account how people are searching for real estate agents.

4. apply for a Google My Business listing.

One of the easiest and most effective local marketing strategies is to apply for a Google My Business listing, which provides search engine users with your location, hours of operation, directions, and contact information directly on the SERPs.

“Request the Google My Business Knowledge Panel and make sure it is updated,” McKnight said.” Be sure to reflect current store hours, especially during COVID-19, and accurately explain any restrictions, such as takeout or delivery only.”

Lodge added that local listings on other third-party sites such as Yelp should also be insisted upon. The more places users can find your business (along with location information), the more favorable your local marketing success will be.

5. optimize your social media pages.

Social media marketing is critical to local online marketing. Like your website, your social media pages should be optimized and localized. This means providing up-to-date information about your location, contact information, and hours of operation. You also need to keep your social media accounts active; you can use tools such as Hootsuite to schedule your social media posts in advance.

Says McKnight, “From a small business perspective, social media is a big part of communication about deals, reopenings, and promotions.” A lot of it is just reputation management.”

6. encourage positive user reviews and engage online.

Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews online, including Google Reviews, Facebook, Yelp, etc. You can also motivate them to leave positive reviews with discounts or promotions, such as drawings or giveaways.

You should also take the time to respond to reviews posted by customers. Always respond in good faith and avoid copying and pasting generic responses, says McKnight.

Whether it’s a negative or positive review, “respond in most cases with authenticity, humility, and honesty,” McKnight says. “Set aside an hour a week to look over the review, respond to it, and make sure it’s not a generic, typecast response. Users get fed up with such responses and feel they are not being heard.

7. host or sponsor local community events

Digital marketing is great, but building real-world bridges between your audience and your brand is critical. Consider sponsoring or hosting local events whenever possible to increase brand awareness in your local community. Sponsorship of local events also increases the likelihood of local press coverage and local search.

8. utilize localized e-mail marketing.

Email marketing strategies are the least expensive of all marketing strategies. Most of the cost is associated with obtaining valuable e-mail addresses. However, the email address does not indicate the location of the user. However, there are email collection techniques to target users by location. The easiest way is to place a sign-up sheet in the store (ideally by the cash register) or at a sponsored booth or event where interested consumers can see it and sign up to receive updates and promotions.

9. try a direct mail campaign.

Direct mail is a much less expensive way to reach customers than it may appear. You can recoup the cost of stamps by not spending money on mailing lists and specialized targeting. By finding areas that match the demographics of your target audience, you can frequently target the best demographics.

10. partner with other local businesses.

Partnering with other businesses can be a powerful tool. Such partnerships can double the total outreach of both companies. This approach works best when you find businesses with similar values and goals (and that do not directly compete with your company).

For example, you and your partner company can jointly organize an event, which can work in conjunction with your SEO content to create a mutually beneficial relationship. You can also link to each other. If you follow these strategies, the effort you put into outreach will be multiplied by the efforts of your partners.

11. localize paid advertising.

Ad groups can filter ads by location or IP. This feature is used by Google, Facebook, and other digital advertisers.

Outside of digital advertising, localized paid advertising can also be useful. Local newspapers, radio spots, coupon books, movie theaters, and local sponsorships are great ways to promote your brand to local consumers.

KEY POINTS Make it easy for locals to find your business by posting your location on your website and social media and keeping your Google and Yelp listings up-to-date.

Think globally, advertise locally.

There are many things you can do with little or no cost to your business when optimizing your digital assets for local audiences.

Thebest place to start is to launch an optimized and localized website, treat your social media pages the same way, and apply for a Google My Business listing. From there, spend time engaging with your local audience, both online and in the real world. Respond to word of mouth and host community-based events to increase your visibility and create a strong bond between your brand and your customers.

Whether you have a business that values local connections or simply want to improve your local marketing, these tactics are easy, affordable, and effective.

Find out now how your business can impact your community by implementing these local marketing strategies. Key Takeaways Many local marketing strategies are free to implement and easy to accomplish. Start by updating your website and online listings with your location.