Friday, January 31, 2014, at 12 noon Eastern.
Topic: What it means to have a successful local online presence. Most small business focuses on the local market. Learn how, especially via maximizing the use of online business directories, to ensure that your website and online presence are found locally.
Outline: Local Online Search, local online marketing, local online presence
Why do we care about local? WWW is global after all.
What is it? What do we mean by local online presence?
Online tactics
On site
Make sure site works well on mobile devices – is responsive. Some 60% of local search is on mobile devices. Doesn’t mean a person is moving.
Make sure contact info is easy to find
Make sure you use meta tags to describe contact information so search engines know you are local
Off site but still online
Google+ local business page
Other local business directories (Bing Business, Yelp, Angie’s List, Foursquare, yellowpages.com) visit getlisted.org for a decent list
Ask for, monitor, respond to online reviews
Presence on industry-specific websites and directories
Post on local event calendars
Advertising
Free: Craigslist
Paid: PPC advertising
Offline tactics
Have a local business address and local phone number.
Be a speaker at local events and talk about what you do. Be strategic
Join your local alumni association
Sponsor local events
Attend events and just talk to people – network
Advertise (with links back to website)
Newspapers, radio and TV
Placemats on diners
Sponsors a little league team and get your banner up
Monitor results
What works, what doesn’t?
Adjust accordingly
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