Effective Tips for Marketing a Local Business Online

Every small business appears local as many small business owners are discovering. Google now presents the facts as nearly 50% of all searches on Google are looking for local information. People habitually search for businesses “near me” when they take to Google to purchase a product or hire a service. If you run a small business yourself, how well are you prepared for local searches? No doubt you are aware that a critical aspect of digital marketing is how well you share information about your business with both consumers and search engines particularly Google. If you share your business information well with Google, it will help you to promote your business to online searchers. That translates to the much needed organic traffic back to your business. These here tips are effective to help you market your local business online.

Make Sure Your Website is Secure

A secure website confers quality in the eyes of search engines. If your website isn't secure, all data therein is insecure and hugely vulnerable. It is easy to know a secure website with a locked padlock and an "s" sign on the left side of the URL, web address of the page when it opens. When searchers hit your site and they don’t see these signs, because of security concerns, they may not be willing to do business with the site. In addition, Google does not prioritize unsecured websites in search results. That means if your website is insecure, it will hurt your SEO. Be sure you are marketing out of a secure website if you want good results. To secure your website, the best option for you is to reach out to your website hosting providers for the service. Some hosting providers like Wix for instance do make website security part of their hosting services through their all-in-one solutions.

Enrich Your “About Us” Page

A good and well worded “About Us” page on your website is the first opportunity your business has to build trust with online searchers. Aside the landing page, it is the second most popular page of many business websites. It is a digital marketing fact that about eighty-five percent of consumers only buy from businesses they trust. These consumers often use the “About Us” page of a website to get and learn vital and essential information about any business when they hit the website. If you skillfully use this page to share your business values, experience, what you stand for and even your bragging rights, you can easily create a connection with people as they frantically evaluate which businesses to patronize.

Make Location Prominent on Your Website  
 
Never shy away from telling Google the location of your business and how local it is. That means your business location must be a prominent part of your website if you want your business to benefit from Google’s very popular local search results. Be sure to have your location in your website footer and also include it on your “Contact Us” page. If you have multiple locations, you can add a "locations" link to your main website navigation. Google as a major search engine has very sophisticated algorithms. It often uses a searcher's current location when providing search results. That makes provision of accurate location information on your website very crucial for SEO purposes. Your business location is not only important for your customers and potential customers, it is also important for your websites, social channels, and search engines that send online searchers to your business. The more specific your business location is the better for your SEO. The reason you must make sure it clearly identifies the street, the neighborhood, the town, the precinct, the county and even the region.

Create a GMB, Google My Business Account

For Google search engine, accuracy and consistency matter a lot. To present your business in that light, it is advisable to create a GMB account on Google. With a GMB account, you have the benefit of free listing for your business.  That allows you to promote your business on Google search and Maps. That is how online searchers particularly local searchers manage to get a first impression of your business. With a GMB account, you can easily modify your hours of operation, add contact information, and provide quick post-style updates where necessary. For best results, make sure your GMB account is always accurate, up-to-date and provides the most important information you want your customers and potential customers to see.

Add a CTA Button to Your Navigation

Anyone who hits on your website must have intentions. It is your duty to make them take some actions you prefer in relation to your business. That is where call-to-action, CTA button is hugely important. You can make it easy for your website visitors to take some action by placing a prominent CTA button in your navigation or main menu. The CTA is a compelling way to direct your website visitors to see “specials”, “shop” or “buy” products or to simply provide “directions” to some goodies on your website. The button text should be preferably one word that is easy to comprehend.

Make Your Employees Front-line Marketers

Your employees can be the real face of your business if they are well trained. Most employees are usually local people and the way and manner they interact with others in and outside your business promises can make them good marketers for your business. If you train them well, your employees can act as marketing channels to help consumers follow you on social media, explain your loyalty program, or promote an upcoming/special sales program. It is your employees who routinely communicate and even interact in persons with your customers. So, if your employees are likable to your customers, the business they promote for you is almost certainly likable to the customers. Good employee training helps that process a great deal. Great employees never miss any opportunity to tell others great things about your business. Making them front line marketers is therefore good for your local business.

Build a Customers’ Contacts Base

Effective communication usually leads to effective business. To make communication effective, every local business must build a credible and reliable contacts data base. This data base should include street contact addresses for possible home deliveries, email and phone numbers for making quick contacts and passing on urgent marketing info. Make sure that you have the proper consent of your website visitors before adding their personal contact info to your data base. In some climes, to be able to market by email or phone, you must obtain an individual's informed consent to receive communications from you. A simple sign-up form on your website can make visitors to voluntarily leave their contact info with you in exchange for some value, such as eBook, Newsletter or some token gift. A voluntary sign-up is enough consent but with an opt-out option if they no longer want to hear from you.