Your local customers are using the Internet to find what they are looking for, and you are missing out on a lot of business if you do not take advantage of the digital advertising outlets available. There are plenty of ways your business can reach local customers and be seen in the search results for people outside your local area who are looking for businesses in your city.
Google has a dynamic registration service for local businesses that not only allows your business to appear at the top of local business searches, but it also allows your customers with Google accounts to leave reviews regarding your business. Other search engines such as Bing and Yahoo! also offer local business registration services that will get your business seen by more local consumers.
If you have not investigated the world of local and national online directories, then it is time for you to start looking at them. Some directories charge a fee while others are free for businesses to use, but they all offer plenty of value. You can put your business in local search directories run by companies such as the Yellow Pages and local marketing companies, and you can also include your business in national search directories as well. With national directories, your company will be seen by people who are looking for your type of business in your geographic area.
Many smaller, local businesses avoid getting involved in large review websites such as Yelp, but that is a mistake. Consumers in your area are utilizing these types of websites to make buying decisions, and good reviews for your website can mean more business. There are a lot of review websites consumers utilize, and your business needs to be listed in as many as possible to grab more of the local market share.
Referral websites, such as Angie’s List, are versions of review websites, but they come with a cost for the users. The idea is that charging consumers to review businesses and benefit from referrals will bring in more legitimate reviews. Some referral websites require businesses to pay to be a part of their service, some do not. But with more people relying on Internet referrals to choose what business they will patronize, it is your best interests to get involved in the referral websites that permeate your local industry.
Social media can be an invaluable resource in growing your business with local customers, but it is not something you should try on your own. For businesses, the social media landscape has become so complicated that it does require a marketing professional to maximize your exposure. But a social media presence managed by an experienced digital marketing firm can help you to reach out to local customers, establish customer bonds, and grow your revenue.
Your local customers are on the Internet, and you need to be there too if you want to grow your business. With help from an experienced and qualified digital marketing agency, you can utilize the many tools on the Internet to reach more local customers and bring in more revenue. If you do not take the time to be successful in your own local area, then being successful anywhere else in the country is going to be extremely difficult.
