This post continues my series on local search marketing strategies.
First, let\’s revisit the importance of one\’s business name. Here\’s a hint: Your location might have some alternative names, like an abbreviation or nickname. You might want to use that alternative name for your location in your content, title, and meta tags. Not many website owners would think of this, so you would pick up additional, highly targeted traffic from the search engines.
There are many good offline strategies for your local presence online. Since local businesses are getting more offline leads rather than online (for now; this tendency is slowly changing in favor of the Web), you might use the following methods to drive online traffic.
Local events: Monitor significant events in your location. Then act fast with SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC (pay-per-click advertising) campaigns in order to benefit from the buzz they create, which makes people search for information about these events online. This will move traffic towards your business\’ site.
Business cards, posters, and other printed materials: Add your website address along with your physical address. Be creative enough to intrigue people and make them want to visit your website for more information.
Most-visited place in your area: You should advertise/promote your website at busy places like the local mall. Offer to sponsor some events put on at the mall. Keep in mind that the mall has a site as well, and try to work with mall management to get your URL posted on its site.
Current customers: Do you promote your website to your current customers, and encourage them to share your site\’s URL with their friends and families? One way to do this is to run an online referral program, or by offering online-only redeemable coupons.
Talk about your website to your suppliers or partners: Think how can they help in your online marketing. Some could add a link to your site on their \”partners\” or \”clients\” pages, for example.
Local newspapers and magazines: Send them press releases with news about your business, including your website\’s URL. These papers also have websites that publish news, which could result in backlinks that drive traffic to your site.
Until next time,
Shavkat Karimov, Internet Marketing Manager, mobileStorm
\”Every problem comes with a solution\”
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