The internet is a big place. If you don’t know how to build and run a local online marketing campaign, everything you put online will get lost in the ether and rarely make it to your target demographic. At The Liquid, we understand how to run digital marketing campaigns that are directed toward a specific geographic area. Our team has put together five things you can do as a part of your marketing campaign to help you get started.

Claim and manage your search engine listing.

Anyone who’s searched for a business on a search engine has probably come across a customized listing for the business. It will include business hours, location, phone number, and website information. However, sometimes these can be wrong because search engines will take submissions from users if the business hasn’t claimed their listing.

One of the first things businesses need to do when they get online is claim their search engine listing. Google uses a service called Google Business Profile, where you can customize your listing with proper information. You can even pin your location on Google Maps. Once you’ve claimed your listing, it’s essential to keep it updated with holiday hours, changes in contact information, or anything else.

Optimize your website for local search.

If you’re not telling search engines where you’re located, they will have a harder time figuring it out. You can make it easy for the algorithm to identify your location by spelling it out with your website content. It’s best to include your immediate location on most of your website pages and some mentions of the surrounding area peppered throughout. One great way to ensure that you’re optimizing for local search is by creating a contact information page. This should include your phone number, at the very least, and your address if you welcome customers to your location.

Get customer reviews.

A significant part of improving your local search results comes from customer reviews. Google can’t vouch for your business and make a recommendation based on your website, but it’s far more likely to recommend your website if customers are willing to vouch for you. Encourage your customers to leave a review if they have a positive experience, which will go a long way toward improving your local online marketing campaigns.

Localize your content marketing.

Content marketing should be a big part of many online marketing campaigns. Whether you’re creating blog posts, social media posts, or videos, you should also optimize them for local search. Be sure to mention your local area in blog posts so search engines can include your blog in local search results. Geotag social media posts, so they’re more likely to show up on the feeds of local users. Mention the city you’re in on YouTube videos because YouTube will log the location based on automated close captioning. You can also geotag your YouTube videos to ensure they’re focused on the location you’re targeting.

Create localized landing pages for your website.

You don’t have to have every page of your website listed in the navigation. Rather than building an extensive navigation bar, keep some pages dedicated as landing pages that are specifically meant to drive traffic from search engines. You can do this by creating pages that are designed to attract people from certain areas. For example, if you’re located in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area, you can create a page dedicated to the main city. Once you’ve finished with that page, dedicate additional pages to the outlying areas. You can build as many pages as you’d like to draw traffic from the cities and towns in your area.

Get in touch to learn more.

Our team at The Liquid can help you identify ways to run a successful local online marketing campaign to build your business. Learn more by reaching out to us. You can send a message using our online contact form, and we’ll be sure to promptly get back to you.