By Laura Lake – About Money

A business or company that is local to a specific area is not able to compete directly with a larger competitor in another geographic location. A local company needs a targeted marketing strategy to attract a new set of customers who may not realize that there is a local specialty business in the area. Local marketing is a technique that is done both in person and online. You will need to determine the local marketing strategies that will be the most beneficial for your business.

If you are in a small town or area that does not already have the service your company provides, then you need to network with other local businesses. This can increase your exposure and attract customers. Ask local businesses to post your company’s fliers on doors or in highly trafficked areas. A flier gives you the opportunity to display all of the services that your business is able to provide. Another option is to give a portion of your time to a local church or fraternal organization to increase exposure to many more people. This will enable you to gain referrals and develop your local reputation.

The most basic type of local marketing is to use a business card. You can give these out as you meet new people or begin work projects. This enables the individual to refer to your business, website or phone number when future contact is necessary. You also need to design a specialized online local marketing strategy to complement your offline marketing strategy, we all know the majority of people search the internet to learn more about companies they are evaluating doing business with.

If you want to attract new customers online, you will need to use local marketing strategies that are part of a search engine marketing, or SEM, for your business. The main focus of a local marketing strategy is to first determine all of the local keywords for your business. These keywords need to be specific to your area of operations to attract local customers. This is also known as location-based keyword usage. Your site should have keywords that include your city, county or other geographic area.

Directory Avenue : This is what our directory websites can do for your business and community connection. Each one of our sites create traffic in your local area or niche market. This creates a place to find who you are and your services. Gives you a chance to market very cost effectively. ( Typical directory costs range from $99 to $399.00 for the entire year !)

Keywords and phrases need to be included on every page of your website. This will increase your site’s ranking when potential customers perform local searches.

The way that interactive marketing is changing local businesses are starting to get a marketing advantage. Many times when people will do a query online to search for a product or service online local businesses will appear on the first page. The goal is to have your site appear on the first page of search results when keywords for your local area are entered. The use of local keywords will differentiate your site from the sites of competitors who are in other locations. You should survey some of your customers to see what types of search terms they would use to find your particular kind of business. If any of these keywords are not already on your site, then you can add them to increase your visibility when a prospective customer does a local search online.

The use of offline and online local marketing is important for a small business that has a need to attract more customers. Local marketing is a great way to gain customers in the surrounding area who may see your business as a better option.