Boost Your Local Visibility to Your Customers

As a local business, finding your customers and having your customer find you, can sometimes be a bit more difficult than you realize. As the mobile society becomes more and more prevalent and the consumer becomes less patient, having your business found easily online is a huge plus. There are some things that you can do to help make the process much easier.

1.  One simple thing you can do it to have your phone number on your building somewhere so that a mobile user can call you as they are going by. I cannot tell you how many times I would have called a store because of an ad or a product being displayed and was disappointed to not find it on the window.
2.  Make sure that your company is found on local online directories so that mobile and web users can find you easily. This can be like the white pages or yellow pages online. Add listings on Merchant Circle and claim your listing on Yelp, even if you are not a restaurant or service business.
3.  Add your brick and mortar address to Google Maps so that when people are using GPS Systems, your business will come up as a point of reference and destination.
4.  For more in-depth listings and coverage, look at the Yahoo small business service where you pay a monthly fee and they will help your business be found online easier. Google has a similar service as well. Check out Google Places for Business where you can manage your listing and track customers.
5.  Use Google Analytics on your website for in-depth tools on your customers coming to your site so you can tailor your reach better.
6. Start using Social Media and make sure that your links are displayed in ads and in your store so your customers can connect with you. Facebook is a popular choice as well as Twitter and Pinterest. Do one or all three, but do something. It is an important marketing tool today.

These are just a few ways that you can increase your local visibility in just a few seconds and for little to zero cash outlay. Take a few moments to add your business to online sites and reach out to mobile and online customers.

image courtesy of Stuart Miles and freedigitalphotos