{"id":15250,"date":"2022-08-26T13:53:26","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T13:53:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginejournal.com\/local-marketing-strategies\/461540\/"},"modified":"2022-08-26T13:53:26","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T13:53:26","slug":"13-local-marketing-strategies-that-work-in-2022-via-sejournal-macuraa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/?p=15250","title":{"rendered":"13 Local Marketing Strategies That Work In 2022 via @sejournal, @macuraa"},"content":{"rendered":"
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You can reach valuable leads through local online and offline marketing.<\/p>\n

You must develop effective local marketing strategies to build your brand authority and attract more customers.<\/p>\n

A digital marketing strategy is essential, regardless of whether you are starting a new business or already have one.<\/p>\n

Digital and social media marketing are the most crucial parts of marketing a local business since, according to Google<\/a>, \u201c83% of U.S. shoppers who visited a store in the last week say they used online search before going into a store.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll cover some of the online marketing tactics and strategies we\u2019ve used with great success in reaching a local audience.<\/p>\n

Great Local Marketing Strategies For This Year<\/h2>\n

1. Optimize For Local Search<\/h3>\n

Through Google Business Profile (GBP)<\/a>, your business will appear as soon as someone searches for your business or keywords on Google.<\/p>\n

It is free, which is awesome.<\/p>\n

The results will feature businesses within the vicinity of the person searching and even includes your business on Google Maps.<\/p>\n

To start, create a profile<\/a> with your company name, contact details, industry, etc.<\/p>\n

Then, verify your GBP listing.<\/p>\n

Once verified, you can add images and a bio, upload blogs, create offers, send and receive messages, add customer reviews, and see analytics.<\/p>\n

Plus, it is pretty easy to update, so you always have relevant info online.<\/p>\n

You can go one step further and set the business up with a solid, local link-building strategy.<\/p>\n

Using citation sources such as Yellowpages.com<\/a> tells Google where your company is located.<\/p>\n

Plus, GBP has a great function that allows you to set the radius on services to a specific radius, such as 10km.<\/p>\n

It is important to add fresh content or blog posts to your GBP account regularly.<\/p>\n

Considering that a post expires after seven days, you\u2019ll likely need to schedule a post at least once a week. Why is this important?<\/p>\n

GBP posts can help drive traffic and engagement.<\/p>\n

Do you have a sale or event coming up? You can promote anything related to the business on GBP.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not confident you\u2019ll remember to upload a blog weekly, use content scheduling apps and tools<\/a> like Semrush and Hootsuite.<\/p>\n

As far as hyper-localized visibility goes, GBP is a no-brainer.<\/p>\n

2. Local Reviews From Local Customers<\/h3>\n

As cautious online users, the first thing people notice is often the reviews given on the GBP listing.<\/p>\n

A positive review or testimonial can demonstrate to local customers that you are a business they can trust.<\/p>\n

That goes a long way in moving customers through the sales funnel<\/a> towards conversion or purchase.<\/p>\n

So, how do you get reviews?<\/p>\n

While I don\u2019t advocate directly asking for reviews from your existing customers \u2013 and definitely not paying for reviews \u2013 there are less direct ways of reminding customers to post positive reviews.<\/p>\n

Got negative reviews? No problem.<\/p>\n

You can use negative reviews as a way to gather meaningful customer information.<\/p>\n

Not only will you get insight on how you can improve products or customer experience (CX), but you can use the opportunity to turn the negative review into a positive one by reaching out to the customer and correcting the poor experience, product, or service.<\/p>\n

3. SEO Optimize Your Website<\/h3>\n

The next step to getting your brand and product into the local market is to optimize your website for organic search.<\/p>\n

The first and foremost way of doing that is through keyword optimization.<\/p>\n

While a lot of this will be intuitive at first, you will soon run out of clever ideas and need to do keyword research<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Competition on short-tail keywords is fierce, and someone who\u2019s been around longer than you is almost guaranteed to be already ranking for it.<\/p>\n

So, focus on long-tail, geo-specific keywords.<\/p>\n

These are ideal because people who use long tail keywords usually know what they want (they\u2019re not tire-kickers), and they are more ready to engage.<\/p>\n

Those who use geo-specific keywords know where they want to do business.<\/p>\n

So, say you are a digital marketing company that provides B2B marketing services for businesses in a specific area.<\/p>\n

It would be futile to optimize just for \u201cmarketing\u201d or \u201ddigital marketing.\u201d That ship has sailed!<\/p>\n

Rather, create pages on the site that are location-based, niche-oriented, and have long-tail keywords.<\/p>\n

For example, you can create a page or blog called \u201cDigital marketing for B2B Companies in California\u201d or \u201cHow B2B companies in California can benefit from digital marketing.\u201d<\/p>\n

You get the picture.<\/p>\n

That means search engine results pages (SERPs) will show results for users searching for \u201cdigital marketing companies near me.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Create Localized Content<\/h3>\n

Content marketing<\/a> is a big part of attracting a targeted audience, which connects to inbound marketing.<\/span><\/p>\n

We have found that the more valuable, relevant, and consistent your content is, the more your target audience will engage with it.<\/p>\n

But where do you start?<\/p>\n

Create content that solves your customer\u2019s pain points and that is evergreen.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no shortcut when it comes to good content creation. Do the research, write for humans, and Google bots will love it, too.<\/p>\n

For this, we love \u201chow-to\u201d blogs, whitepapers, ebooks, infographics, videos, and other long-form blogs (more than 900 words).<\/p>\n

That way, your content will help prospective customers find your website when looking for solutions.<\/p>\n

In this example, when the person enters a long-tail keyword, \u201cbest flowers for weddings,\u201d Google brings ads that match the search term.<\/p>\n

It also brings organic results. Best of all, it creates \u201cPeople also ask\u201d (PAA) questions.<\/p>\n

These could include, \u201cWhat is the average cost of flowers for a wedding?\u201d<\/p>\n

Why not use these as a guide for fresh content ideas?<\/p>\n

This kind of SEO-rich, high-value content attracts new visitors to your site and establishes your brand as the leader and authority on the subject matter.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll see better results for your business by integrating content marketing into your local online marketing strategy.<\/p>\n

5. Review Your Website\u2019s Design<\/h3>\n

The look and feel of your website are as important as the words and content that make you findable on search engines.<\/p>\n

However, while keywords will get the visitors to your site, your design and user experience (UX) will keep them there.<\/p>\n

Use images and videos on your website that reference your location, neighborhood, and business so that there is a recognizable reference to your localized entity.<\/p>\n

Also, the internet is evolving as rapidly as consumers\u2019 needs are.<\/p>\n

So, your website that was on the bleeding edge of design when you published it five years ago probably doesn\u2019t quite toe the mark anymore.<\/p>\n

It might be time for a redesign<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The most important thing to safeguard on your website is your user\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n

The site must be easy to use, easy to navigate, and easy to understand.<\/p>\n

6. Integrate CRM Tool<\/h3>\n

Customer relationship manager (CRM) solutions ensure we have a tighter grasp on our understanding of our customers.<\/p>\n

Most CRMs can integrate with modern websites. But how does your website feed prospect data into the CRM?<\/p>\n

For one, you could consider adding a pop-up on your website.<\/p>\n

It could be an invitation to subscribe to your newsletter, view a limited promotion, or announce a new product launch.<\/p>\n

When linked to your CRM, your lead generation landing pages will also automatically update your CRM, such as HubSpot or Salesforce<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Not only does this feed your pipeline, but it also improves first-party data and targeting and thus makes your marketing messaging that much better.<\/p>\n

Also, localized campaigns can be launched via your CRM.<\/p>\n

You can easily identify and segment customers and prospects by region if the data has been captured accordingly in your CRM.<\/p>\n

Remember, the quality of data you capture is the quality of output you\u2019ll get.<\/p>\n

That can be used for personalized invitations to in-person events and activations, for email campaigns that are area-specific, and so on.<\/p>\n

7. Attract Local Visitors Through Google Ads<\/h3>\n

As I\u2019ve always said, if you want sales, you need to advertise<\/a>. Google Ads is just that.<\/p>\n

While SEO is great for local organic search, you need Google Ads and other paid media channels to support your lead generation and brand awareness campaigns.<\/p>\n

Google Ads is a keyword-driven, pay-per-click channel that allows you to target audiences based on keywords and location (amongst other things).<\/p>\n

Your creative copy<\/a> and solutions-driven content will help capture your local market until your SEO is in full swing.<\/p>\n

When setting up your Google Ads, implement conversion tracking \u2013 which will help you optimize your campaigns and pivot toward optimal business success.<\/p>\n

It also aligns marketing tactics with sales goals and ultimately supports business growth.<\/p>\n

For example, one of our clients is a health and fitness gym.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re only targeting people within a 10 km radius around their seven gyms through Google Ads.<\/p>\n

This way, we get maximum return on investment (ROI) on money spent.<\/p>\n

8. Feed The Funnel With Remarketing<\/h3>\n

Remarketing<\/a> is an important element of your localized digital marketing arsenal.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s effective if your SEO or Google ad didn\u2019t do the job the first time or the customer is still in the consideration phase of the buyer journey.<\/p>\n

Remarketing supports other, more geolocation-specific tactics when considering how to strengthen your local marketing strategies.<\/p>\n

So, if your Google Ads campaign (geolocation-limited) or your paid social campaign (likewise, demographics-oriented) sends traffic to your site, remarketing supports these by following those visitors around after the fact.<\/p>\n

In the end, remarketing increases conversions, promotes brand awareness, and helps you stay top of mind with prospects.<\/p>\n

9. Get The Phone Going With Google Call-Only Ads<\/h3>\n

If you rely heavily on phone calls to generate business, then Google call-only ads<\/a> could prove invaluable and ideal for localized marketing.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because, as with other Google products, you can target a specific demographic in your call-only ads.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a good option if you don\u2019t have any specific landing pages simply because your product or service doesn\u2019t need it, and a direct phone call just works better.<\/p>\n

One downside of local online marketing may be that you will not receive all qualified calls.<\/p>\n

10. Insist On CRO-Optimized Landing Pages For Each Campaign<\/h3>\n

Contrary to popular belief, your home page is not your landing page.<\/p>\n

Your home page is your home page.<\/p>\n

It is a summary of your website with many exit points to other pages, many different calls to action (CTAs) \u2013 such as \u201clearn more\u201d and \u201ccontact us\u201d \u2013 and many different focuses.<\/p>\n

A landing page has one job: conversion.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re spending money on an ad campaign, you need those clicks to work hard.<\/p>\n

To do this, you need a landing page designed specifically<\/a> for that campaign, with lead-gen in mind.<\/p>\n

So, the tried-and-trusted format is:<\/p>\n