Finding local customers is the ultimate marketing objective for businesses of any size. This can be a complex science requiring understanding of local buyer behavior as well as local tastes and preferences. Assembling this information is one thing, but compiling it for use within a coherent web page that attracts searches from potential customers in a specific area is another matter entirely. If it can be done effectively however, attracting local customers via the internet can yield huge profits. After all, users searching for things such as industrial flooring contractors would be likely to search for something like Epoxy Flooring Chicago than simply “Epoxy Flooring” – except if they were just looking for general information.
Focusing a web page or blog in a fashion that competes for buyer traffic on a local level is generally termed “Localization.” Localization refers to the method of arranging a blog or web page to take advantage of local conditions and business location to attract internet visitors. Optimizing the page for local traffic can be as simple as including the name of the city or town in which the organization is located.
Many large companies invest heavily in Search Engine Marketing and Optimization to attract customers to company web pages. This doesn’t mean that small companies can’t compete using similar methods though. There are three primary methods or areas that smaller enterprises should focus on when competing on a localized level:
Highlighting Local Conditions Referencing Specific Business Deals Optimizing for Location
Local Conditions – Weather conditions, local economic news and other information specific to a city or town can be used to attract traffic and customers. As web pages and blogs allow quick communication, savvy organizations use this information on their websites and blogs to distribute helpful and useful information to the community. Extending this philosophy, businesses that sell snow tires or furnace repair services can then use local weather information to attract new customers when local weather conditions deteriorate.
Specific Business Deals – Retail businesses can make use of a blog or page to isolate sales of items that might be held in excess inventory. Offering deals to web users is also a great way to build repeat web and foot traffic. Local enterprises can test the blog for marketing potential by extending an offer to local customers and then asking the user to present a printed copy of the web page or blog post when making a purchase.
This method of using a blog to generate business can be made possible by an email registration list. If your blog or web page has an ‘opt-in’ feature that collects consumer and visitor email addresses or if you can fish out all your visitor’s email addresses from the elsewhere the company can build an email list to attract more local customer visits by offering specific deals or sales.
Local Search Engine Optimization -Optimizing your page for users to find on search engines can bring new traffic to your page as well as foot traffic to brick and mortar locations. Pages and blog posts that answer common consumer questions are useful. Titling a page with the user’s question can attract reader traffic. Including FAQs on the blog and web pages then helps attract business.
One of the more overlooked elements, but one that is essential to localization is inclusion of a geographic name or identifier on the page title as well as within the page itself. Including a city name or name for an area in which the business provides goods and services frequently causes the page to be displayed when local consumers are seeking help. If one’s furnace goes out in February, the consumer is going to search for something like “furnace repair in Ann Arbor” instead of simply “furnace repair.”
There is a great deal to consider when localizing one’s internet and web presence. But including a geographic identifier in your keyword phrase, as well as in the title of your page can be a good start – and it can significantly increase local buyer traffic.
SEO Consultants Denver help businesses attract new customers via the internet. From highly specialized product providers – such as Defense Spray – to retail businesses, SEO can be a significant part of any growth strategy.
categories: sales,business,eCommerce