Local search marketing, also called local SEM, is all about placing your online business in the search map for specific local keywords when potential customers are looking for a particular business such as yours. A large piece of local search marketing, however, is also making sure that your company shows up frequently in that local group so that potential customers can easily find and pick you out from the rest. It’s important to understand the concept behind local SEM. Essentially, it’s making sure that your company shows up for those customers who are most likely to purchase from you. By doing this, you’re more likely to turn those leads into actual sales. Here are some of the key components of local search marketing that can be used for successful local SEO.
Keyword Rich Content You want to make sure that the content that you use within your website is as rich as possible in order to be picked up by the major search engines. This way, you get the most chances at being ranked highly for your targeted local search searches. Keep your site content simple, but don’t neglect to include a few helpful keywords or phrases within it. In fact, you want to do several keyword searches throughout the day and rank each one within your content based upon which words come up most with the search engines. The higher you rank for each keyword or phrase, the better chance you have of getting found in local searches.
Exhibiting Your Business Offering a freebie for your visitors is another great strategy for successful local search marketing. Offer something for free, whether it’s a free report, an eBook, or some other type of content that you’ve created for your customers, and ask them to join your opt-in list. Once they have joined, offer them discounts or other incentives for referring others to your website. Once they’ve submitted their information to your list, offer them a free ebook or report related to their industry. The more ways for your potential customer to get more information from you, the better your chances of increasing conversions.
Another great idea for successful local marketing strategy is to build relationships with other businesses within your area. Do you have a web development or SEO company that you work with often? Why not create a joint venture to market one of your products? You can also offer your services to other small businesses in your area for a percentage of their profits – a win-win for both sides!
One other high-quality content strategy to incorporate into your local search marketing strategy is building a blog. Use your blog to talk about local topics and write reviews of local businesses in your area. If you have your own blog, this will take care of one half of the equation. However, if you don’t have your own website or blog, consider using one of the dozens of free blog directories on the internet to generate high-quality traffic to your site.
Many business owners fail to realize the importance of the social media aspect of marketing. Twitter and Facebook have become must have tools for business owners. It is absolutely essential that you keep your social accounts active and frequently update them with quality content. A local search marketing company should be aware of the newest social networks on the internet so they can promote your business to the right target audience.
Last but certainly not least, is to build relationships with local businesses within your community. As mentioned above, many local businesses are unaware of the benefits of an SEO specialist. But if you show that you are knowledgeable and willing to help them, they will most likely ask you when they next need your services. Most business owners want to do things on their own – they don’t want a professional helping them with that. So make sure you stay in touch with them and continue building on that relationship.
When it comes to digital marketing, you have to be an expert in the field. If you can master the tools, you will increase conversions dramatically. If you can’t master the tools, then you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. Hiring a professional SEO company is a great idea. Local search engine optimization is important, but it isn’t the only step you need to take to drive quality traffic to your website.