Online marketing localization is still influenced by the “Yellow Pages,” even in the digital consumer age. Now, I’m not suggesting that people are pulling out the huge book every time they’re looking for someone to meet a need. But that book has had a pervasive influence on how consumers interact with businesses.
Nowadays, though, we have search engines to “do the walking” for us. They record not only the time of our searches but also the location from which we’re searching. Then they use this information to provide results that look most relevant to our needs – or needs people like us tend to have in our particular geographic market. Our individual location data used to be visible on search results pages, but now it’s usually hidden from view unless we click a button. Here is what’s important about this:
The Direct Marketing Association tells us that 80% of household budgets are spent within 50 miles of the home. Whether Yellow Pages publishers understood this trend or created it, there is no disputing that consumers in the digital age are still looking for local solutions when searching for answers to their problems. Search engines understand this paradigm and are working hard to find websites that have local authority for their customers’ queries.
How can you apply online marketing localization to your business? Improving your local visibility is critical. In fact, Google knows that 61% of local searches on a mobile phone result in a phone call. Improved local visibility will translate into positive results for your company!
There are a number of steps you can take to improve your online marketing localization, even if yours is a large firm that has multiple local markets. Getting your local partners listed with appropriate contact information and links back to your website is critical. Local listing sites like Google and Yelp combine local visibility with the ability to collect customer reviews.
You have much to consider when setting up your marketing plan of attack, but skipping online marketing localization would result in missing a huge source of potential leads. To learn more about localization and how best to achieve it, request your free MarketSnare demo. Be sure tosign up for the MarketSnare newsletter, too.