Small businesses need to ensure that consumers find them online easily. Whether customers are looking for restaurants, drugstores or coffee shops, they almost always turn to their trusted search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo!. It is, therefore, critical for any business owner to invest in local marketing.

An article written by Tim Devaney and Tom Stein for Forbes explains why:

Not long ago, many people believed that small businesses could earn customers from around the U.S. simply by being on the Internet. It hasn’t exactly worked out that way. In a recent national survey by Sage North America, 74 percent of small businesses said the majority of their customers are local. In short, when consumers look to buy, they still look local—and they start by looking online.

For one, people like to shop in their vicinities because it is more convenient. Less time for commute will also save a lot of money for customers, so most prefer to do their shopping in places near their homes. This, in turn, allows businesses to develop a repeat-customer base in an influence radius estimate of about 10 miles.

If you’re a business owner in South Carolina, here are some ways local marketing and advertising in Greenville, SC can benefit your business:

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO allows your website to be more visible to potential customers. Get listed on local search sites like Google+, Yelp and TripAdvisor. These search sites practically serve as the modern yellow pages and will improve the organic search engine rankings of your website.

2. Increase Your Digital Presence

A business must maintain a good online presence. This means investing on web design for your website or a mobile app. Social media websites also play key roles in your website’s visibility, thereby reaching your target audience more efficiently.

3. Customer Feedback

Local marketing also takes care of your company’s online reputation. User or customer reviews can greatly influence the consumer’s decision in purchasing products and services. Great online reviews mean more foot traffic and, by extension, better sales.

It is important to note, though, that local Greenville, SC marketing should not be a purely online effort; face-to-face interaction also has a large impact on customers. Local marketing is not just about investing money, but also about interacting with the community and building relationships with your target market. So if you want to attract more local customers, find ways to balance excellent online marketing strategies and superior local customer service through the help of marketing and advertising experts such as Spark Local Marketing.

(Source: Three Ways To Attract More Local Customers, Forbes)