Local search is increasingly relevant for small business owners who want to grow their brand. Here are 5 tips you can implement to boost your local marketing efforts.

1. LOCAL MARKETING
5 Ways to Build Your Brand
L I N K N O W M E D I A | W W W . L I N K N O W M E D I A . B I Z

2. 01
Your guide to local.
Whether you realize it or not, your business
is probably already online on one platform
or another. Google, Yelp, and many other
sites automatically generate profiles for
local businesses, which you can/should
claim.
After claiming every profile you can find,
it's important to audit and correct the
information on the profile.
Most importantly, make sure your NAP
—business name, address, and phone
number—is correct and consistent.
Consistent references are crucial for
establishing trust with search engines.
L O C A L M A R K E T I N G .
C L A I M E X I S T I N G
P R O F I L E S

3. 02
Your guide to local.
Online citations to a business are kind of
like references to a job applicant: the more
positive, believable ones you have, the
more trustworthy you seem.
Search engines learn to trust a
website/brand over time through the
addition of positive, accurate citations from
around the web. Citations are any piece of
content on the web that mentions your
business name, with or without a link
(though a link to your company site is
preferable, obviously.)
It's important to build up as many of these
citations as possible. Mentions in local
online media outlets or popular blogs are
especially important for local search.
L O C A L M A R K E T I N G .
B U I L D P O S I T I V E
C I T A T I O N S

4. 03
Your guide to local.
According to Google, 94% of smartphone
users search for local information on their
mobile devices, and 90% haven't made up
their minds about which brand to buy
when they start looking.
Even better, one out of three smartphone
users ends up buying from a different
company or brand than they planned to,
meaning mobile is a huge opportunity for
acquiring new customers.
People also interact differently with mobile
than they do desktop. On average,
consumers spend spend 18% less time on
mobile sites. This means your site needs to
load quickly, get straight to the point, and
be easy to navigate, all from a mobile
device.
L O C A L M A R K E T I N G .
O P T I M I Z E F O R
M O B I L E

5. 04
Your guide to local.
According to research from American
Express OPEN Small Business Monitor,
70% of entrepreneurs say they purchase and
source goods and services from other small
businesses, and almost all (96%) small
businesses are committed to supporting
their local communities through different
activities, such as donating to local causes
(70%) and participating in community
projects (49%).”
If you want to be discoverable as a local
business, you need to be involved in the
local community.
L O C A L M A R K E T I N G .
U T I L I Z E O T H E R
L O C A L B U S I N E S S E S

6. 05
Your guide to local.
Instead of trying to compete with the
largest companies in the world for search
terms like "running shoes," find out what
your target audience is looking for
specifically.
The better you know what your target
customers are searching for, the better you
can identify “long tail keywords” in your
paid advertising. Long tail keywords are
more specific and tend to be phrases
searchers use when they are closer to
making a purchase.
Because long tail keywords are more
specific, not only is there less competition,
but your product/service is more likely to
be an exact fit for what the customer is
looking for.
L O C A L M A R K E T I N G .
L O N G T A I L
K E Y W O R D S

7. LINKNOWMEDIA
L O C A L M A R K E T I N G .
L E A R N M O R E A B O U T L O C A L
M A R K E T I N G A T L I N K N O W M E D I A . B I Z