Every digital marketer knows how tough it is to be noticed by the right customers. It is even harder now when there is more competition and the attention span is shorter than ever.  

More and more marketers are turning to more creative ways to reach their target audience. This is where local digital marketing comes in.  

Rather than pitching your brand against the big multinational brands, you are better off using a new strategy altogether. One that appeals to the particular consumers in each specific region. 

Chances are that you are already doing significant self-promotion online. After all, tons of your customers are there as well. But how do you ensure that you are doing it right? This is exactly what we will explore in this post.

Local Digital Marketing Explained

Local digital marketing describes online activity people take to promote their brand to people in a geographic area. This includes posting online, sending out targeted emails, investing in SEO, etc. 

The goal is usually to help people learn that your brand now exists in their locality and make it easier for them to find you in their online searches. 

Why does this matter? Well, stats show that 68% (i.e., two-thirds) of all online journeys start with a search engine, most of which are local. Even more interesting is the fact that 88% of people who do this actually go on to visit or call the store within a day.

Source: SeoProfy 

On the surface, this sounds like all local businesses must be making a ton of money, but this is far from the reality. 

The thing is, local digital marketing can be pretty competitive. So much so that it’s easy for a brand to fall through the cracks unless they are actively working to improve their online visibility. 

Maybe it will surprise you to learn that this applies across the board for every single niche and industry. 

Did you know that 99% of churches do not engage in SEO, meaning that most online searches only show a tiny fraction of the ones in an area? Even though they rely on one location, unlike many companies and organizations.

This means they need to learn about all the tips and effective methods that work to level up their church SEO. It goes without saying that if they have to, then businesses need to put even more effort into getting noticed in local searches.

Why Is It Important?

Source: HubSpot

Coming up with some strategies for digital marketing for local businesses is not just important but essential. Let’s face it: We live in a time when online visibility can make or break your business efforts. Consider the fact that:

• 97% of people will first learn about your local business online than anywhere else. If you are not visible online, you are definitely losing out on potential sales.
• 92% of people looking online for local businesses will choose the ones that appear on the first page of search results. The better your strategy, the higher your chances of showing up there.
• 28% of local searches end up becoming actual sales. You definitely need a plan that convinces these customers to choose your products instead of buying from the competition.

Source: Google

Bottom line: Having a local internet marketing strategy guarantees your visibility. It also helps you connect with the right audience, all while giving you an edge over your competitors.

6 Tips for a Winning Local Digital Marketing Strategy 

Want to know how people go on trying the same thing for years, losing money and getting no result? Because they didn’t have a good plan to begin with. 

If you want to be the “Apple” or “Tesla” of your local marketing scene, you need a local digital marketing strategy that is relevant. It also needs to follow the best practices. These include: 

Give Your Google Business Profile a Makeover

Your GBP is the face of your business as far as the Google search engine is concerned. Chances are that it is the first thing that pops up when anyone types your name into a search engine. So, first things first, if you don’t have one, go create it now. 

If you already have one, then here’s how you can make sure it hits the right spot with search engine algorithms and prospective customers:

• Check if your name, address, and contact details are correctly listed. Also, make sure your messaging feature works so customers can freely get in touch with you.
• Update your hours of operation (especially if you made some changes recently). Include hours for public holidays, and add new pictures and videos to your gallery.
• Add some keywords in your description. Make sure it doesn’t look spammy. Instead, keep it short and simple. Use “Italian and Romanian Dishes and wine” instead of “Intercontinental Dishes.” 
• Make sure to add your in-store products so people can see what you have in your inventory (some locations let you do this automatically).

Your Content Marketing Game Needs to Be Better Than the Rest

If you have been in the SEO game long enough, you know that content “rules” the digital marketing world. So, every other site in your niche is probably creating content that revolves around the same or similar topics. 

If you want to beat them in search results, you are going to need to do better than them. So:

• Create better quality content packed with useful, actionable steps and insights. Even better if you highlight local resources and events and build up your rep as the local authority.
• Cover the topics that others are missing or just not doing enough justice to (this is where doing a content gap analysis can save the day). 
• Pepper your content with high-quality, engaging images and graphics.

Above all, make sure that the content matches what people are “dying” to see, or it won’t make much of an impact. This is why SurveySparrow recommends that you take the time to understand your audience’s needs first. 

Using an SEO tool to find location-specific search queries and the search intent can make all the difference.

Build Relevant Connections

Source: EditorialLink

There are many ways to build relevant connections when it comes to local internet marketing. First off, you could get your business listed in relevant local directories. This is called local citation building — a tactic that can significantly improve your online presence and SEO. 

But if you stop here, then you will be missing out on other tactics like local links from other relevant blogs. Instead, you want to also get listed on different resources that have localised domains. These are compiled by local bloggers and show categories of businesses available in a specific location. 

That’s not all, though. You can even reach out to relevant local businesses and ask for the opportunity to publish a guest post. 

Depending on how well-crafted your proposal is, they might say yes. But if they say no, you could also try using local link-building services for the same purpose. 

Make Sure Your Website Is Mobile-Friendly

Source: Ahrefs

It’s no longer news that 84% of “near me” searches (i.e., local searches) are happening on mobile devices. 78% of these lead to offline purchases. Even better, 61% of consumers actively prefer businesses with a mobile-friendly site. What does that tell you? 

Businesses that are not mobile-friendly are losing out in more ways than one. Apart from the missed sales opportunities, their SEO rankings are also seriously impacted. Google simply ranks responsive sites higher in search results, and this applies to both SEO and ads.

Celebrate Your Wins and Get Your Customers to Do the Same

Source: Sproutsocial 

Social media is perfect for this purpose as it allows you to reach a wider audience and engage with them directly. 

• You can encourage your customers to leave reviews on your Google Business Profile and blog comment sections. Even more encouraging is when you share the best testimonials and reviews yourself. 
• You can also create a reward system, like giveaways for the featured reviews. This can create a ripple effect where more people also share their stories in hopes of being featured on your posts. 
• Also, create and share interactive content like polls and quizzes. Use your SM to broadcast your latest events and offers, and so on. The point is to use social media (and other channels, of course) to engage with your target consumers. 
• If you want to take it up a notch higher, you can also visit other online forums and communities. Participate in the discussions and share your own helpful ideas. 
• You can also peek at what your competitors are up to. Weigh their strengths and weaknesses, and use that knowledge to strengthen your own strategy.

It sounds like a lot of work, which, frankly, it is. But using the right social media management tools can really make for an easy workflow in this process.

Show You Care About the Local Community 

You can become the sponsor for local events or even host one yourself for some charitable causes. One advantage of this is that the local media might do a story about your business, which is positive PR for you. 

This, of course, will cost some money. Still, you don’t always need deep pockets to do something like this. You can still contribute to the local community on a smaller scale. How? Here are other things you can try:

• Participate in local fairs and events. 
• Contribute to sponsor prizes for winners of local events along with other brands where possible.
• Contribute occasionally to local schools. 
• Organize local beach clean-up events with volunteers, etc.

Conclusion

Pulling off digital marketing for local businesses takes a lot of research, preparation, and patience. The good news is that not only is it possible to see outstanding results when you put in effort consistently, but it actually gets easier with time. 

The best plan is to focus on being the brand that customers can count on for answers, support, and quality. This should reflect in your content aligning with search intent. The same shows when you participate in local events that are dear to your target audience and more.