Pie chart of employment by type

Local Online Marketing

You may be looking for areas to target, or have no choice due to physical location. In either case, the first step is know the local online market. Many factors to consider but employment demographics offer a start. The pie chart above shows this for Surrey as an example, not typical of the UK with higher spending power, along with cultural and educational interests related to the employment profile.

With 1.2 million people and 86% having permanent internet access, the county offers a substantial audience. Understanding their requirements helps, as these are reflected in searches they carry out. We can for example confirm the number for many personal and household services are higher than a similar population level in South Yorkshire. Equally, searches for many sports goods and entertainment sites are higher there.

You could just use search data without other factors but a wider picture helps identify business potential. A fair chance business will have expanded to meet the need, so look at competition levels but your objective will be to offer more. Aside from competition, you may also find niche opportunities others are not pursuing.

Research can begin online, local business support and public body sites, databases of search engines. There are a number of tools available, two we mentioned in our article on writing website content are useful:

You can assess market size, compare this to other regions and possibly track down terms which may be more prevalent locally. A combination of these, along with real world data you gather way beyond our pie chart example will help with building a site and your first decision, is the idea viable.

We mention this because many people who would not start a real world business seem happy to using a website. No wish to spoil their party, just introduce caution against a belief that websites are magical. They are excellent business tools but rarely a business themselves, or able to succeed without potential customers.

Many websites being built, or improved will in any event be for established businesses looking for a higher share of their local market. An internet aware population use this as a core source of information. They also use county or town names in searches "Telford estate agents" "IT support Devon" etc. Information is available online to fill the need and local businesses must be part of this, or detach themselves from the market.

Matching Local Market Enquiries

The first requirement is establishing an efficient website, in terms of build, performance, matching consumer needs. Content and structure of the site should focus on the local online user and local terms. Our online world is commercial, with businesses aware of the potential and trying to compete. A site optimised just to represent a business which happens to be in a locality but not targeting that locality will not win.

Your site needs to work with a search engine business model, they create a user base by offering good search results and monetise the situation via paid advertising, sponsored ads they hope users click on. In reality, only about 15% do but this provides massive income, so search engines strive hard to be the best.

To be at the forefront of their results, a business website must match enquiries they respond to. There is value in a site as an online brochure and contact point but more in organic search. Many nuances to consider, with Google using 200 plus factors in their algorithm and a website must also serve visitors but the effort to please both is worthwhile.

Focusing on Local Search

If your business happens to have purely national, or international aims, a software vendor for example, local search may not be for you. In reality a high proportion of businesses do have a local focus, service based, wholesale, or retail. Using search engines to boost their customer network makes sense.

Part of online success in any defined locality is making that your focus. Your business could also become wider known on the web but more complex to target local and national markets from the same site. For many this will not be essential anyway and they can add the ingredients which help locally:

  • Ensure your site matches search terms for the local market and meets the needs of local people.
  • Consider an identity change, an accountant in Leeds is not sufficient, be the Leeds accountant.
  • Use on site factors, text and images, page titles, URL structure, internal links and anchor text.
  • Build a reputation locally and make sure this extends to the web, with other sites promoting you.
  • The web doesn't stand still, search engines like a flow of fresh, valuable content for their users.
  • Integrate the site into your business and your business into your site, be more than information.

Beyond the above, focus on terms that will bring business, not just return in search results. This needs research but the opportunity is often there. Competing against every website in the country may not make sense, a local thrust online could do. If you would like to read more website help articles please do or contact us for any other assistance we can offer.