When you’re a small online business, targeting your local markets and customers as part of your internet marketing strategy can give you a competitive advantage. As your business is on the Internet, you might not think about, or want to bother with, your local customers - as in theory, the web is global. You may already be segmenting your market regionally, but we are talking here about global versus local markets.
There are several good reasons and ways to promote yourself locally as well as globally, even if you’re selling only via your website. Here’s how and why:
- Mention your physical/geographic address on your website, and include your geographic business areas
as your website’s keywords. This will enable local people/companies to find you more easily via the search engines, if they’re looking for a local supplier of your products/services, even if they intend to buy online, for example: “pet products hertfordshire”. Sometimes customers simply prefer the reassurance of their supplier being nearby, in case of any problems, and this also means you can supplement your online marketing efforts with more personal interaction, such as phone calls or delivery of products, if relevant. - List your online business in local online directories. Search for directories which are either specific to your type of business (and have local listings), or those which list companies in your geographic area. Again, this will mean you’re much more likely to be found by local customers when they’re carrying out search engine searches for products/services within your local geographic area.
- Include your company listing on Google, through their Google Local Business Center – basically, this means your online business is listed on Google Maps, and it’s free! And note that when internet surfers are looking for certain products/services within the local area, the Google Maps listings almost always come up first, on the first page of the SERP (search engine results pages)! A great way for your business/website link to get onto Google’s first page, without you having to do any other SEO (search engine optimization)!
If you’re using social media for marketing, join local area groups/members. Simply search Facebook or Twitter for your local area, and all the groups/members with those words will be listed. Join or link to the relevant ones. Often these groups will have a community-oriented or local flavour to their posts, so promote your business/products/services and/or events you’re organizing in an ethical and informational way, as a way of adding to the buzz of what’s happening within your local community.- Search online for various online/offline groups, societies, discussion groups, or forums, that are based locally, and link up with them. Swap website links, list your business as a service, partake in events, offer freebies or arrange competitions, or offer relevant help and advice online at their websites, etc – be creative as to the ways you connect with them, and make sure their website visitors can always link back to your website.
The bottom line is, that whether you’re marketing globally via the internet or a small offline business, local customers need to know you’re in their local area. This can be a valuable source of both website traffic and paying customers, if you aim your marketing communications locally as well as globally. When customers know you’re based in the area, this can endear them to your business, and reassure them that you’re a real company, rather than one out there in cyberspace, seemingly run by computers not humans!
Picture acknowledgements:
Dogs dressed up: http://www.onlinepetsadvice.com/
Pet Playground Game screenshot: http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/5537/pet-playground/index.html
Decorated cat: http://happyzenpet.wordpress.com/2009/03/10/when-have-you-gone-too-far-decorating-your-pet/
aztecnetwork
Internet Marketing Mentor, Network Marketer, Blogger, Wonderer, Armchair Wanderer, Animal Lover, Child of Nature, Citizen of the Universe.
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