As a business owner, it’s up to you to look after your local online marketing, but where do you start? Here are 6 simple local online marketing hints you can do right now.
1. Claim your online business profile
Every search engine these days makes it possible for you to have a business profile. These are those listings that appear on the side of searches with a map and contact details when you search for a local business.
Some search engines will automatically generate one of these for your business. If they have, go to your business and follow the steps to verify that you are the owner. If there isn’t a profile for your business, create one.
That way you can make sure the search engine knows about your business and so will potential customers.
2. Ask for customer reviews
Whether it’s your search engine business profile, your company’s Facebook page or your local business directory listing, reviews make your local business more credible. It lets people know that customers are using your products or services.
Contrary to belief your business needs bad reviews too – if they were all good people wouldn’t believe the reviews are genuine. And a bad review can be a great chance to work on your business and how you react to a bad review speaks volumes about your business. Why not offer the reviewer the opportunity to come back and use your services again? Offer them a discount as compensation for their bad experience. Whether or not the reviewer accepts, it shows that you’re willing to try and fix the problem. That you’re human too and people make mistakes.
3. The customer is always right
It may be a cliché, but in the digital age it is more relevant than ever. With the power of review sites, social media and forums bad customer service or abusing a customer can easily spread across the internet, damaging your local business. If you treat a customer horribly in the offline or online world the chances are that a disgruntled customer will find their way to the internet.
As with the point above, if your find yourself in a situation where a customer is attacking your business the best to do is try to mend the relationship. Attacking them back gets you nowhere and can only do more damage.
4. Have up-to-date information online
It’s great to have your business everywhere, the more ways people can find your local business the better. But these listings are of no use to you if the contact information or website address is wrong.
Do a quick search for your company name, find the websites that have your company listed and check your company’s details. These will be sites like local business directories. Make sure you add as much information about your company as possible. If you can’t find your company on a local business directory like goguide® then submit a company listing.
5. Have your company’s address on your website
Including your companies address on your website helps search engines to classify your local business into your local area. Therefore, when a customer is searching for whatever products your business offers and they are in your local area, it increases your chances of appearing at the top of the search results. This small step can make sure you are finding customers who are right for your local business. There is no point having your business appear in search result overseas when you only offer services in Melbourne.
6. Think like your potential customers
What are the search terms you would expect a customer to use to find your company? What are the first things they will see and read when they come to your site? Are you putting your best foot forward?
These are the question you should ask yourself when thinking about your business’ local online marketing. Make sure you website looks great, that the content used relates specifically to your business and that it is as easy as possible for customers to get in contact with you.
The harder you make it for them to find what they are looking for, the less likely you will be to convert that into a sale or more work.