Smart phones have become new Yellow Pages for finding businesses, making local search marketing crucial to attracting both local and non-local traffic. Needless to say, the old technique of starting your business name with “AAA” to list at the top of the Yellow Pages isn’t going to cut it.
Google recently reduced local business listings in response to a search query to 3, increasing the competitiveness for local business to get in front of the consumer.
If you own one or more brick and mortar stores that rely on foot traffic you need a comprehensive local marketing plan that generates cohesion across multiple marketing channels to improve your chances of getting your business in front of your target audience.
This means strong geo-targeted product and service marketing on your website, as well as consistent and relevant information on your Google Business, Bing Places, Yelp, Yellow Pages etc. local marketing resources.
Have more than one location? You should have a dedicated landing page geo-targeting every unique business address utilizing SEO best practices, including structured data markup. For each location be sure to include a map, store hours, phone number, specials, events and relevant images.
Being conveniently located, while important to most consumers, isn’t enough to convince them to pay you a visit. After all, your competitors are just a click away. Your website, like any good commercial, needs to engage the customer and let them know that not only do you have what they are looking for, but that their experience will be a positive one.
Local search marketing isn’t complicated, but requires attention to detail to move the needle and regular monitoring to stay on top.