What Is Local Business Marketing?
Local business trading involves utilizing strategies designed to pull and prosecute prospects successful circumstantial geographic areas. It’s useful for helping some brick-and-mortar businesses and those without beingness storefronts pull imaginable customers.
The geographic area(s) a business targets depends connected its needs. For example, a canine walker mightiness attraction connected conscionable 1 neighborhood. But a section depository whitethorn want to scope the full city.
Examples of section businesses include:
- Restaurants, cafes, and bars
- Clothing retailers and boutiques
- Gyms and fittingness centers
- Local attractions for illustration zoos, museums, amusement parks, and theaters
- Local work providers for illustration lawyers, business consultants, pet groomers, plumbers, electricians, and existent property agents
- Transportation and conveyance services including car dealerships, car repair shops, and car rental services
Why Is Marketing Important for Local Businesses?
Local trading helps you build marque consciousness and pull caller customers. More specifically, it tin thief you:
- Connect pinch prospects who are apt to acquisition soon
- Build semipermanent relationships that lead to repetition business
- Compete pinch some section and non-local competitors
- Reach a larger customer guidelines wrong your community
11 Local Marketing Ideas for Your Business
1. Claim Your Business Directory Listings
Local listings are citations that let you to adhd your business’s name, address, telephone number (NAP), and different information. And they tin thief group find your business and amended your visibility successful section hunt results.
Common section directories include:
- Yellow Pages
- Better Business Bureau
- Yelp
Here’s an illustration of a Google Business Profile (GBP) listing that appears erstwhile searching for “thierry chocolates alberni”:

And 1 connected Instagram’s searchable map:

So, adhd your business’s NAP accusation to applicable directories. And make judge it’s accordant crossed each listings.
Why?
Consistent listings look much trustworthy. Users want correct accusation erstwhile they look up your business. (So they don’t sojourn an aged business location. Or telephone the incorrect number.)
Having the aforesaid accusation crossed citations whitethorn besides amended hunt visibility. As Google whitethorn position businesses pinch accordant listings arsenic much reputable and trustworthy.
So, usage a instrumentality for illustration Semrush’s Listing Management to show your citations.
Here’s how.
Open the tool, hunt your business name, and prime the correct 1 from the list.

The instrumentality will show you a study pinch errors and inconsistencies related to your listings. Along pinch places your business isn’t listed but should be.

You tin manually update these listings.
Or motion up for Semrush Local to fto the instrumentality automatically return attraction of each your directory listings.
2. Optimize Your On-Page SEO
Improving your site’s local on-page SEO—optimizing your site’s contented for section visibility successful hunt engines—can thief you look much prominently successful search. This tin boost website postulation and moreover lead to in-person visits (if you person a beingness location).
In different words, you want your business to rank for local keywords. So searchers tin find your tract and return action.
Here’s an example.
A New York flower transportation work ranks for the hunt word “wedding bouquets adjacent me” among adjacent users who hunt that term. And those users could perchance click connected the business’s hunt consequence to bid flowers.

To find target section keywords, you’ll request to execute section keyword research.
Here’s how:
Open Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool, input a wide keyword related to your business, prime your location, and adhd your website successful the “AI-powered feature” bar. Then, click “Search.”

The adjacent page displays a database of related keywords.
To find section keywords, effort adding the location(s) you service pinch the “Include keywords” filter.
Just participate these locations, prime “Any keywords,” and click “Apply.”

Go done the database of keywords to find ones applicable to your business.
Review the Personal Keyword Difficulty (PKD %) file to find keywords your tract tin easy rank for. (Keywords pinch PKD % scores little than 50% are easiest to rank for.)

Finally, prime the keywords you’d for illustration to rank for.
These could beryllium keywords for blog posts. Or keywords for location-specific landing pages. (We’ll spell complete that next.)
3. Create Location-Specific Landing Pages
Landing pages are conversion-oriented pages. And creating location-specific ones helps seduce prospects successful your area to return a desired action. Like booking a consultation aliases buying a product.
Here’s an illustration of a landing page for a massage session that asks group to book a massage.

So, create a dedicated landing page utilizing your keywords from the erstwhile step.
Using our mechanic illustration from the erstwhile section, we tin create a landing page for the keywords “mobile mechanic coventry” and “mobile mechanic.” So users tin telephone and book an appointment.
To create your ain section landing pages, constitute contented focused astir applicable position you recovered successful the erstwhile measurement straight successful Semrush’s SEO Writing Assistant.
Write your matter straight successful the editor (or import matter from the web), adhd your keyword(s), and set your target assemblage to your location. Then click “Get recommendations.”

Use the suggestions connected the correct to amended the text’s readability, SEO, originality, and reside of voice. To thief you create high-quality contented that’s apt to rank higher successful hunt results.

After penning and editing your text, usage Semrush’s Landing Page Builder app to create the existent page.
The app lets you build no-code landing pages done a drag-and-drop interface. And you tin take from master templates aliases commencement from scratch.

Simply take your template and usage the drag-and-drop editor to customize your landing page pinch your transcript from SEO Writing Assistant.
See our instructions for the Landing Page Builder app for a elaborate walkthrough.
Nearly 50% of polled consumers opportunity they’ve utilized Facebook to study astir section businesses successful the past 30 days. And 33% opportunity the aforesaid of Instagram. Meaning you tin perchance scope caller audiences by being progressive connected societal media.
Here are immoderate ideas to thief your section societal media efforts:
- Post consistently. Use devices for illustration Semrush’s Social Poster to support an progressive beingness connected societal media. This way, group will travel crossed a floor plan they cognize is from an progressive marque erstwhile they investigation section businesses.
- Use section hashtags. Analyze adjacent competitors’ societal media profiles pinch Social Tracker to spot which section hashtags thrust the highest engagement. And incorporated those hashtags into your content.
- Engage pinch section influencers. Consider partnering pinch applicable section influencers to beforehand your business to their audiences.
- Add locations to your societal media posts. Certain platforms (like Facebook and Instagram) fto you tag geographic locations successful your posts. Which intends your posts mightiness show up erstwhile users hunt for businesses successful those locations.
- Host a giveaway. Ask group to like, share, aliases remark connected a station arsenic an introduction request that makes them eligible for a prize giveaway. And usage a instrumentality for illustration Woobox to prime a winner.
For example, this section cafe successful Chicago tells group really to participate their title for a gift card:

5. Localize Your Paid Ads
Paid ads fto you group geographic locations to target group wrong a peculiar area (as circumstantial arsenic a definite neighborhood). Meaning they tin beryllium a awesome measurement to scope circumstantial audiences astir apt to do business pinch you.
For example, you could tally Facebook ads that target group who unrecorded successful a definite metropolis aliases wrong a definite region from your location. Like those wrong a five-mile radius of you.
You tin besides tally section paid ads connected Google. And target group based connected their location and the keywords they hunt for.
Like these HVAC companies who target their ads to a section area:

Use Advertising Research to peek into competitors’ hunt advertisement strategies. And get ideas for your ain ads.
Open the tool, participate a competitor’s website, take your country, and click “Search.”

The “Positions” tab tells you which keywords this competitor targets. So you cognize which ones to perchance target, too.

And the “Ads Copies” tab shows you the nonstop matter that rival utilized for ads. Which tin animate the transcript you constitute for your ain ads.

Once you cognize what transcript you want to use, you’re fresh to create ads.
And successful Google Ads, you tin specify your location by country, city, region, aliases postal codification done its guided setup.

Getting progressive successful section events lets you interact pinch imaginable and existent customers. And tin thief you turn marque awareness.
Here are immoderate ideas for ways to get involved:
- Restaurants can group up tasting booths astatine festivals, events, and nutrient shows pinch samples aliases typical paper items
- Clothing retailers and boutiques tin group up pop-up shops astatine section markets aliases fairs
- Gyms and fittingness centers can big outdoor classes, demonstrations, aliases challenges astatine parks for non-members
- Local attractions can big interactive booths astatine events to springiness group a preview of offerings
- Local work providers can stock their expertise astatine organization fairs aliases workshops, offering free consultations aliases demonstrations
- Transportation and conveyance services tin supply shuttle services for ample events and carrier attendees to and from places for illustration hotels and venues
For example, this basking cocoa show successful Calgary, Canada, invites section cafes, restaurants and chocolatiers to compete for awards while raising money for a charity:

7. Respond to Customer Reviews
Replying to affirmative and antagonistic customer reviews connected platforms for illustration Google and Facebook helps you:
- Address concerns
- Build rapport pinch customers
- Enhance marque cognition by showing responsiveness
Plus, replying to reviews mightiness promote much group to time off them successful the future. And having affirmative Google reviews tin thief you rank higher.

Monitor online reviews from a scope of places for illustration Yelp and Google pinch Review Management. You tin besides reply to Google reviews correct successful the tool.

You tin moreover usage AI to group up automatic responses.

8. Leverage Local Media
Getting featured by section media tin thief you build credibility wrong your community.
Examples of section media organizations you mightiness want to link pinch include:
- Newspapers
- Local TV stations
- Community newsletters
- Local magazines
- Radio stations
- City-specific blogs/podcasts
For example, you could transportation a newsworthy communicative related to your business to a section news outlet.
Or inquire a section blog to reappraisal your services and create a station based connected their experience.
Find section media opportunities by searching things like:
- [Your city] + magazine
- [Your city] + section blogs
- [Your city] + section podcast
- [Your neighborhood] + newsletter
Then, scope retired to the different outlets pinch your pitch.
9. Partner pinch Other Local Businesses
Joining forces pinch different section businesses tin thief you scope a wider audience. For these partnerships to beryllium successful, the businesses you partner pinch should service a complementary assemblage pinch akin interests.
Some section business ideas include:
- Co-hosting a shop and school attendees really to do a task related to some businesses
- Featuring each other's products successful your stores
- Having societal media takeovers wherever you tally their relationship for the time and they tally yours (with approved content)
- Hosting a giveaway connected societal media wherever some businesses donate a fewer products/services arsenic the prize
Here’s an illustration of 7 section businesses banding together for a giveaway:

10. Implement a Loyalty Program
Loyalty programs connection incentives for illustration cash, credits, points, aliases talented products to religious customers. So, they tin beryllium awesome for driving repetition business.
And building a loyalty programme doesn’t request to beryllium complex. Here are a fewer elemental options:
- Use punch cards to way customer purchases that reward customers aft they bargain a definite number of items. Like a canine groomer that offers the tenth nail trim for free.
- Use a point-of-sale strategy to way points and reward those who scope a circumstantial level of points. Like a bookstore that offers gradual rewards based connected points acquired.
Good Earth Coffeehouse takes the points approach:

11. Reward Customer Referrals
People spot recommendations from friends and family. So, promote your customers to mention business your way.
One measurement to do truthful is by rewarding group for their referrals.
For example, this section landscaping institution offers gift cards for referrals.

Additional ideas:
- Offer discounts connected early purchases for some parties
- Award products, cash, aliases gift cards to referrers
And regularly advertise your referrals programme to existent customers, truthful they cognize astir it.
You could create a dedicated landing page connected your website outlining your program, nonstop retired emails reminding subscribers what they get if they mention someone, and station signs successful your business encouraging group to commencement referring.
Start Your Local Marketing Strategy
Now that you cognize really to marketplace your section business, your adjacent measurement is to put these ideas into practice.
Start by creating your Google Business Profile and adding your business to online directories. Then, optimize your website for section searches.
From there, attraction connected strategies that make consciousness for your fund and goals.
And usage Semrush devices to streamline your efforts.
Try them for free.