As more households toss those heavy Yellow Pages books and turn instead to their computers for information, local small businesses must have a strong presence online. Of course, having a website is essential for businesses nowadays.  Local search marketing is the key to bringing more traffic through the doors by utilizing GEO-targeting and collaboration with other related businesses. If you are a novice and feel you could use some assistance, these Top Local Search Firms can help.

GEO-targeting

This simply means ranking high for local searches. For instance, you own a beauty salon. If someone searches for “beauty salon Chicago,” you want to be one of the first several salons to pop up on the Google search, and on the Google Places maps as well. Google Places, Bing Local, and Yahoo Local are imperative for local search marketing visibility.

The first step is to claim your Google Places listing, as well as those on Yahoo and Bing. The second step is to build out your profiles. This means adding great information about your business- because that is what helps it to rank higher and make your business visible to potential customers. Your goal is to rank on that first page of listings, because rarely will customers scroll past all those, and you are missing out on likely business.

Collaboration and Cross Promotion

Collaborating with related local businesses can help both to build a stronger presence, both online and offline. You might consider cooperative advertising, bundled offerings, joint appearances or sponsoring joint events. Is there a local cause that you could jointly support in your local search marketing? How about something as simple as offering coupons for each other’s services or products, or writing a joint resource booklet about your area? For instance, that salon could collaborate with nail salons, beauty supply stores, or fashion stores.

The chance to market each other is a win-win situation for all involved. Connecting with other businesses and cross-promotion offers the probability for a much larger impact than solo marketing. Local search marketing partners are able to expand by using each other’s customer base, and by gaining a trustworthy introduction to a related business.

Here are some inexpensive and simple ways to collaborate and gain new business:

• Share links on your websites. Give the other business a little boost by telling your customers what they do and how good they are.
• Print joint messages on receipts and invoices. (Merry Christmas from both ABC Beauty Salon and XYZ Nail Salon!)
• Offer discounts or specials when customers utilize both you and your partner. (Full Set of Gel Nails Half Price at XYZ Nail Salon the same day you have your hair done at ABC Beauty Salon.)
• Put signs or posters up in each other’s business promoting the other.
• Drop a flyer in shopping bags with coupons for the other business.
• Joint sponsorship of a little league baseball team or fund-raising event can give you a platform to mention one another and your partnership.
• Utilize each other’s email list, and send out joint newsletters or promotional pieces.
• Advertise together in local shopper’s magazines and newspapers.
• Give your partner samples of your product to pass out to customers, and have them do the same.
• Add your partner’s coupons or special deals to your website, and vice versa.
• Designate one day as “partner discount day” and announce it in your business places, flyers, newsletters, and websites.
• Include them in blogs and podcasts.
• Hold a contest, and have your partner supply the prizes. Next time, flip places, and you supply prizes for them.

Connecting with Potential Partners

If you believe that cross-promotion in your local search marketing will help, start making the connections and making it work for all of you!

First, make yourself a nice long list of all the businesses related to yours that also serve the same target audience. Be certain that they are reputable and have a good presence, both online as well as offline.

Mail or email each one of them a proposal listing the benefits of cross-promotion. (Builds credibility for both, saves you both time and money, allows you to pool your resources, lets you build on each other’s customer bases and expand your presence, and cross-promotions and partnerships are a source of natural curiosity.)

Monitor each other’s progress through the traffic each receives and your return on investment. You will most likely see lots of increased traffic with very little additional cost in terms of cash or labor involved. That is one of the major advantages of cross-promotions in local search marketing.