Online advertising has changed the way buyers and sellers meet, as what used to be a phone book has evolved into search engines, online directories, review sites, and now social networking sites.
Although all of these digital means are available to anyone, anywhere in the world, many of the above provide means of advertising to local audiences.
In this article we'll cover the basics of local advertising for your business, explore why local advertising is important, the different places you'll be able to buy local advertising, and what you can do to limit your reach to a local audience.
The basics of local advertising for your business
First, you have to remember that the internet is ubiquitous, which means that if you have a bike shop in Dubai, people in Abu Dhabi will be able to find you online, as will people from Beirut to Cairo.
But assuming that someone in Cairo is not likely to cross a continent to buy something from you, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to waste your advertising money on people in Cairo.
This is what makes local advertising different; It only shows your ads to people who are local to you, who are likely to be - or become - your customers.
Importance of local advertising
Now the question: How do you accomplish local advertising online? There are lots of different channels, such as search engines, local directories, review sites, and social media sites, which are great places to start.
For example, in search engines, you can bid for your ad to appear when people type in certain search terms.
All major search engines also allow you to limit your ads to only those in certain geographic locations.
For example, if you're showing a price for a keyword, like 'bike repair', you can set up your campaign to bid only if the searcher is within ten miles of a bike shop.
The different places where you will be able to buy local ads
What else? Well, social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn provide business pages, as well as paid advertising to target local customers, not to mention their ability to know where people are, and like other search engines, you can customize your ads to only show people nearby with a truly relevant local message.
Of course, local directory and comment sites provide advertising opportunities as well.
In addition to the listings you are listed on, which are usually free, you can often bid a little more to display your ad in premium locations, such as search results or even on your competitor's listings!
On the other hand, there are some very neat things you can do in local ads to take advantage of anyone nearby who sees those ads.
Things you can do to limit your reach to a local audience
First, your message can be tailored to someone who is physically close to your store. There are also plenty of local advertising channels that offer some unique features.
For example, you might be able to list opening hours, show your ads only during your store's business hours, or you might be able to let people get directions to your storefront directly via a smartphone or mobile device, let them call your phone number with a click, or let them browse All the great comments are right to you.
With that, we learned how local advertising can help you find customers close to your business, and that there are plenty of options for activating local advertising.
Remember whether you choose to use search engines, social media, directories, or review sites, limiting your advertising budget to people close to you, and taking advantage of special local advertising features can help boost your neighborhood business.