According to a Bazaarvoice study, approximately 39% of shoppers research a product online before buying it in a store. This means that in order to compete successfully in the local market, your small business must have an online presence. How can it be created and improved?
1. IMPROVE LOCAL SEO
Focusing on improving local SEO will help drive more traffic to your site, as well as leads and sales for your business.
97% of consumers are looking for information about local businesses on the Internet, so SEO should be your priority. In addition, Google separately identifies local search results for specific queries. The search engine displays a list of the three most suitable local companies at the top of the page. If you manage to get into this top 3, you can expect a significant increase in profits, not to mention ROI.
To get started, register your site in search engines. Also, create local content for the site and other platforms, collaborate with local companies and publishers, optimize the site, and engage in strategic promotion in social networks.
2. INCREASE THE NUMBER OF ONLINE REVIEWS
Online reviews are an important part of the local ranking, including taking into account third-party specialized sites. This is a new form of word of mouth, which significantly affects the decision to purchase.
67% of consumers say, but their decision was influenced by reviews on the Internet. That’s why it is so important to ask customers to leave feedback, especially if you know that they were satisfied with the purchase. For example, use a call to action asking you to post a review.
3. USE EMAIL MARKETING
Small businesses often underestimate email marketing. However, this is a useful tool for communicating with current, former, and future customers. Many companies rely more on SMM, but email marketing is three times more effective and provides 17% more conversions.
4. TRY THE PAID SEARCH
Since it can be difficult to take winning positions on local requests, it makes sense to try PPC advertising, for example, AdWords. You can choose available but effective keywords for your campaign for a specific region. Targeted ads can help increase conversion rates.
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