How Do I Advertise My Business Locally?

The answer to that question is both simple…and complex…both short…and long…all at the same time.  If you find yourself asking How Do I Advertise My Business Locally, here is the quick rundown of the options that are available…and why some are much better, effective and cost-effective than the others.

First, there are two distinctly ways to advertise your business locally.  You can advertise locally offline, and you can advertise locally online.

Advertising locally offline means that you are using traditional marketing…marketing that has been used for decades (and in some cases, more than a century).  This includes mediums like the TV, radio, advertisements in the local / regional newspaper and ad blocks in the Yellow Pages.  And, in the past, these have all been the most cost-effective ways to advertise your business locally – key phrase “in the past”!

Today, these traditional local advertising outlets are outdated, ineffective and way too costly to provide significant ROI (return on your investment).  Just think about it like this.  When you need something…a product or a service…say, a plumber.  Do you pull out the Yellow Pages and flip around until you find one?  Do you turn on the TV and sit around waiting for a plumber’s commercial to come on?  Do you pull out the newspaper and flip through the local business ads until you find a plumber?

Of course you don’t.  What do you do?  You turn on the computer (or your iPhone or Blackberry), head on over to Google…and search what you need.  And, if that’s what you do…you can consider it a really safe bet that the vast majority of your prospects (recent studies show 90%, or more) do the exact same thing.

Why?  Simple, because when you go to Google and search for what you want, Google gives you a whole bunch of options…a whole bunch of suppliers for the product or service you need right there…all just one click away.  There are local business (map listings), there are Pay-Per-Click ads, and there are organic listings (videos, articles, blogs and websites of the best, most trusted suppliers of the products and services you need) right there in that little screen for you click around find the one that is right for you.

That single page…the maps, the PPC ads and the organic listings…those 10 results on the front page of that search engine…are the most important and profitable real estate within a local market.  When you are advertising locally online, it’s all about “location, location, location…,” and being on that front page (more than once, if possible, is the location you need in order to draw in new customers and make more sales.

That is why, whenever a new (or prospective) client asks me…

How Do I Advertise My Business Locally?

I always respond with a short one word answer.  Online!  And, then, of course, I go into the details of what online marketing really is…and how beneficial it can be.

When advertising your business online locally, there are so many incredible options for you to take advantage of…just think about them all…

You can use videos, articles, press releases, blog posts, websites, online directories, pay-per-click ads, social media sites, and review sites that are essentially word-of-mouth recommendations for your business on steroids…flying across the internet at light-speed.  It’s like having thousands of individuals (past customers) telling every single person they know or meet about what a great job you do.

How can you beat that?  Honestly, I don’t know if you can!

So, if you are asking yourself right now…How Do I Advertise My Business Locally…because you need more customers to pay the bills this month…or you just want to really grow…maybe even hire some additional staff…or just be able to put more of your profits away for you to use…consider looking into the powerful and cost-effective local advertising options that are available for you online.

This is an exciting new project that I am proud to be part of.  Equissentials is one of those companies that shows off the ingenuity of local entrepreneurs.  The Equissentials website will be getting a complete overhaul…along with several other key services geared to boost their internet presence and online marketing ROI.

You can check out the Equissentials website at… www.Equissentials.net (the new site should be going live before 1/1/2010).

This oneonta web design project is the perfect showcase, including…

• Complete Custom Website Graphic Design
• Full CMS (Content Management System) Installation
• Market Research & Website Search Engine Optimization
• Sales Funnel & Lead Capture Optimization

Check out the brand new Equissentials website once it’s launched…and contact me today to see what I can do for your online business success!

According to the Kelsey Research Group, a major online resource for small and local businesses, 30%, or more, of all searches typed into major search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc) are “local” searches.  In other words, they are searches for a particular product, service or provider in a particular location (usually the home town, city or region).  In fact, the vast majority of “buyers” will first search for a product, service or provider online before making their purchase decision…even if they eventually choose to buy offline.

This translates into millions of searches every single month that are specifically geared towards “buying” keywords.  Simply put, these searchers, those who are very specific in what they are looking for, are far more likely to become paying customers quickly and easily.  This because, when a prospect goes through the trouble of telling your exactly what they want, and exactly where they want it, they typically have a need, or at least a strong desire, and they are ready to spend their money to fill it right away.

And, even better, these searches typically cover nearly every industry and every single market…no matter how small, or large.  Local small business internet marketing is important for every business…and when it is done right, it can be devastatingly effective.  Right now, a number of small and local businesses are using local small business internet marketing strategies to dominate their markets.  Some of these businesses include:

• Real estate agents and mortgage lenders
• Home builders, general contractors and solar installers
• insurance agents and companies
• Car dealers and equipment suppliers
• Retail and clothing stores
• Bars, nightclubs, dance clubs & more

What makes local small business internet marketing so popular with many businesses is the effectiveness, the variety of marketing options and the lower costs compared to traditional offline marketing.  These traditional offline marketing strategies, such as…

• Yellow pages, newspapers and magazines
• Television and radio commercials
• Local flyers, etc

…are typically expensive.  They often require not only the cost to create the marketing pieces, but also the associated costs, such as the high costs of print ads in newspapers and yellow pages, as well as the bloated expense of TV and radio airtime.  And, in today’s market, very few, if any prospects, actually look for their products or services in places such as the Yellow Pages.  Just think about it…where is your copy of the Yellow Pages?  Have you opened it to find anything lately?  I haven’t.  Mine is actually keeping a homemade bench in the workshop level (shows the level of my wood working craftsmanship).

However, any type of marketing that was once done offline, can now be done online, for a fraction of the cost.  And, because of the increased use of the online marketplace by the vast majority of prospects and customers, these internet marketing strategies tend to be far more effective than their traditional offline cousins.

The most widely used local small business internet marketing strategies employed by the most successful companies (regardless of size and market) include:

• Articles, Press Releases & Blogs
• Web 2.0 Sites & Social Networks
• Videos, Images & Podcasts
• & More

By targeting the “local search” phrases that the prospects in their market are using to find their products or services with these local small business internet marketing strategies, a small or local business can put their marketing message directly in front of the most qualified, ready-to-buy prospects…and, use the marketing pieces to drive these prospects directly to their website, their phone lines, or their storefront.

This type of local small business internet marketing can increase the sales and profitability of a small local business by increasing the effectiveness of their marketing while lowering its wasted costs.  In today’s economy, and difficult business market, it seems imperative that all businesses look to cutting their costs and increasing their sales…local small business internet marketing is one of the easiest and effective ways of doing that.