Contributed by John Daniels
Jersey businesses often look at international traffic. But marketing guru Dave Conklin of Conklinmedia.com says that businesses in the local area are missing out on a lot of business traffic.
Local SEO is the key to getting more customers at a cheaper rate. It’s what he did with his homepage URL, https://conklinmedia.com/, and it led to a personal boom in business for Dave. He specializes in helping clients with innovative growth strategies, and now he’s offering his services to companies in the Jersey area.
So how can Jersey businesses begin tapping into local digital traffic?
Focus on Local and Save Money
It’s estimated that by 2020 there will be 50 billion connected devices. But regardless of this advance, Dave says, the key is to get customer data.
Customer data is the lifeblood of getting traffic because you can better target your chosen audience. And locals are always more likely to give up their data. It’s less costly to achieve than attempting to market yourself to a worldwide audience.
Use Ads to Target by Location
The easiest way to hit local traffic is to use online ads to target specifically by location. You may be weighing up Google AdWords vs. Facebook Ads, but the truth is that competition has risen.
These are no longer the exclusive ‘go to’ places for ads. Costs have gone up and lately, businesses have been considering other avenues.
Dave says that businesses should consider taking advantage of Instagram ads. They’re much cheaper because firms have yet to consider them.
Get in while the going is good!
Be Registered as a Local Business
Dave says that digital firms often neglect to put themselves on Google as a local business because they don’t bring in foot traffic. It doesn’t matter. Do it anyway.
But one handy tip that Dave is sharing is that citations are the key to getting above other local businesses. That means finding websites that aggregate business data.
Dave says that you should be on Yext, Moz Local, Neustar, Factual, and Acxiom. These are the things your competitors are neglecting.
Improve Local SEO through Collaboration
Even today backlinks are still essential for rising to the top of Google. Always look to improve local SEO through collaboration.
Dave says that you should reach out to non-competing businesses who want to achieve the same goals as you. Collaborate together and forge useful backlinks between local websites.
You should also look to get local coverage, so reach out to business journalists in your area and see if they’ll do a feature on you.
Last Word – Get on the Ground
There’s so much more to getting local digital traffic than staying online. Dave says that thinking outside the box and creating relationships on the ground can be just as powerful as anything you do online.
But this has to be a long-term strategy. Be consistent and you’ll soon start to see powerful results. Don’t just blindly follow your competitors. Be a leading light in your local community and it’ll pay dividends.
What’s your strategy for getting more local traffic?
