Every local business owner knows that marketing is an important part of growing a successful business. Marketing can be as simple as putting up a flyer at the local coffee shop or as complex as launching a multi-million dollar ad campaign. Many small businesses make the mistake of thinking they don't have to market themselves. This couldn't be further from the truth, especially in today's digital age.
If you're ready to take your marketing efforts to new heights, here are six tools that can help:
A Wordpress website
Your local customers are searching online more than ever before, so it’s imperative to have a strong online presence.
WordPress is the most popular choice for business websites, with 64% of the market share for content management systems. It's so popular because it is extremely adaptable. - you can build any kind of business website with ease using WordPress.
Managed WordPress hosting is much better than shared. That way, you won’t have to worry about having to update plugins or firefight site downtime.
A Blog
Fresh content is the best way to show Google that you're a match for local searchers. Keep your website fed with fresh content by keeping a blog.
New, relevant, blog content is great for SEO - but don't forget to update your older 'stale' content too, to bring it up to date and give your site an extra boost!
A Google My Business Listing
Google My Business listings are a big deal. Local searches and mobile searchers have been steadily growing, so if you haven't claimed your listing yet then it's time to hop on that train!
There is significant value in getting into the local pack - the section that lists the contact details and reviews of the 'top' three businesses closest to the searcher's location. 88% of people who make a local search from a mobile device go on to take an action, such as calling or visiting a business from the local pack search results. You won't appear in the local pack without a Google My Business listing, meaning you're losing business to your competitors.
Email marketing software
If you're not using email marketing, then you're missing out on one of the most effective marketing tools there is. To harness the full potential of email marketing, you need an email marketing tool. These usually come with a ton of built-in features allowing you to manage your email contacts list, and track how many people open or take action from your emails.
There are lots of great email marketing tools out there. Mailchimp and Hubspot are two of the most popular, but check around for one that fits your business needs and budget.
A local SEO agency
Putting together a solid SEO strategy takes a lot of time and effort. Once you've set your website up, whether you used in-built tools or an expert SEO service, that’s not the end of the hard work. You can’t plug your keywords into your website, set up your meta tags, and then kick back and forget it.
Getting your website to rank, and then keeping it there, takes consistent work.
Your customers hire you because you’re the expert at what you do. So, when it comes to optimizing your website for customers to find you, using an expert local SEO company should be a no-brainer.