Local advertising ideas are powerful ways for small businesses to optimize ad delivery. You can reach a highly targeted audience in a specific geographic location to attract foot traffic and build deeper relationships with customers and other local businesses.
Every day, Google fields more than 3.5 billion online searches, 46% of which are for local solutions. With the technological advancement of mobile devices, today’s consumer is able to search for answers while on-the-go. At the touch of a button, they can quickly find nearby stores and products they need for convenient, efficient shopping experiences.
Keep reading to learn about effective local advertising ideas that can increase traffic, boost sales, and generate revenue for small businesses.
Key Takeaways
- Local advertising delivers relevant information to area searchers and fosters deeper customer relationships.
- Today’s consumers shop online from mobile devices and benefit from several digital marketing strategies for local advertising.
- Some traditional marketing efforts are still highly impactful, especially for small businesses targeting consumers in close proximity.
Why is Local Advertising Important?
Local advertising allows you to market to the region you serve, which increases your relevance and contributes to customer satisfaction. People who are searching local are typically ready to purchase, since they’re looking for nearby solutions. Reaching your audience at this point in the customer journey with useful recommendations increases the likelihood they’ll convert.
Local advertising helps you connect with customers on a deeper level. Your messaging can include jargon and dialect that resonates with your local audience. You can reference local events and popular locations that mean something to area shoppers. This helps you build a lasting relationship with your customers, which is important for two reasons:
First, existing customers are responsible for 65% of a company’s purchases. The longer you keep a customer, the more they’ll spend with your company and the greater their lifetime value. Second, deeper relationships result in greater customer loyalty, and loyal customers become advocates for your business. Through positive reviews and word-of-mouth marketing, they’ll spread the word about your business and drive even more traffic to your doors.
Local advertising can help you:
- Strengthen brand identity
- Build recognition
- Develop a loyal following
- Drive traffic to your location
- Increase overall sales
To capitalize on local search and the benefits of local advertising, every small business should consider incorporating local advertising ideas into their company’s marketing strategy.
5 Local Advertising Ideas to Boost Small Business Success
While there are numerous ways to reach area shoppers, here are five local advertising ideas that are impactful and effective in attracting customers and generating revenue.
1. Online Business Directories
Digital directories are a place for companies to educate prospects about the details of their business. Hours of operation, location, and contact information help customers determine when and how to reach you. You can include a direct link to drive traffic to your website, and a map feature can provide directions to your storefront.
In addition to being highly affordable (most are free), online business directories boost the chances of people discovering your business and help improve your search engine ranking. This increases visibility and allows you to broaden your reach. All of this contributes to sales increases for overall success.
2. Local SEO
Local search is more specific than typical queries on search engines. People searching for area businesses tend to use zip codes, city names, or phrases like “near me” to find solutions in close proximity. Optimizing your website with these kinds of keywords can earn you more prominent ranking placements.
Other ways to optimize for local SEO include:
- Obtain reviews from satisfied regulars: Positive feedback from local customers builds confidence in prospects.
- Optimize for local voice search: Voice searches are more conversational, so plan content accordingly.
- Share content focused on local events: Area shoppers will find this information relevant and useful.
- Include location on your website’s ‘About Us’ page: Capitalize on opportunities for high-performing keywords.
- Ensure your site is mobile-friendly: Most local searches are performed on mobile devices.
By optimizing your website for local shoppers, you deliver content that resonates and provides useful solutions to problems. This gives shoppers a positive user experience and helps earn you high search engine rankings for more visibility.
The following video further explains local SEO and why it’s an important strategy for business success:
3. Google Ads
Small businesses can bid on particular keywords and pay for an ad to appear on search results for those terms. You can bid for three categories:
- CPC (cost-per-click): The amount you pay each time a user clicks on your ad.
- CPM (cost-per-mille): The amount you pay per 1,000 impressions.
- CPE (cost-per-engagement): The amount you pay any time a user interacts with your ad.
Google assesses your ad quality and keyword use and grants you a quality score. Businesses with higher scores often pay less for ads and earn higher ad placement. From search and display to app and video, Google ads aim to entice people to click and boost the chances of achieving the marketer’s goal. Google Ads are trusted, familiar, and highly effective.
4. Billboards
While most businesses have begun relying on a digital marketing strategy for optimal results, traditional marketing still makes an impact. Billboards are a useful tool for small businesses marketing to local consumers. Marketers can target a specific audience with laser focus by placing your company’s logo at strategic points around town. This builds brand recognition by garnering high views and impressions. Billboards can also be more personalized, incorporating messaging that plays off nearby locations or familiar landmarks.
Today’s digital billboards make signs more engaging and affordable since you can pay for certain amounts of air time on a rotating schedule. Whether you want to reach a niche audience or leverage current relationships, billboards are an effective local advertising idea for small businesses.
5. Newspaper Ads
Newspaper ads can offer several benefits for local advertisers. Because the publication is targeting nearby residents, you can boost local awareness and drive people to your business. Advertising in local publications allows you to reach a specific target audience with a tailored message that resonates. When you help to increase advertising revenue, the publication is able to grow their page count and appeal to more readers. This helps grow distribution, which expands your reach and increases visibility.
Because newspaper ads are available in different sizes and assorted locations within the publication, they’re offered at various price points. You can choose the options that fit within your budget while still reaching the right audience for maximum impact.
Develop an Effective Local Advertising Strategy
BOOM Communications provides marketing, advertising, and printing solutions to strengthen customer loyalty and help grow your business.
Contact BOOM Communications today to learn how we can help you increase local market share in your area.