4 Ways I'd Market a Local Store Online to Get Found in Google

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I was at a small meeting the other day, and somebody asked me something that sounds simple, yet most people could not answer it.

Frankly, I might not even have the best answer; however, I will provide you with the best answer that I have.

What was that question?

"What would I do to market myself if I had a local gardening store?"

While answers will vary upon each type of store and the location, but assuming that you live in a town that might have more than one (1) type of your store, here are things that I suggest--and do--for other local businesses.  (You might want to try them, too!)

I have two (2) main goals when I am marketing any business online:

• Having people--who DO NOT KNOW ME--find me on Google
• Looking like the right person ONCE THEY KNOW ME.  (Many people will research you online.)

Four (4) Ways I Would Market a Local Store Online to Get Found in Google

1. Landing Pages
2. Articles
3. Profiles
4. Videos

You can never truly market yourself enough, because even if you do not have the ability to fill all of the orders you have, you can always work with other companies to help you.  You always want to control the market that should be buying from you.

However, let's look at each one of my suggestions a little more closely.

1. Landing Pages

Usually, a Landing Page is a little different than a standard website. A landing page is meant to be a place where you send people (to land) after they respond to your marketing efforts.

Internet Visitors "land" on a specific website page after they fall into your "marketing trap."  There are many different types of traps, but my Landing Page "traps" usually involve a page that is exactly what the internet surfer typed.

For instance, if I owned a garden store in Overland Park, Kansas, I would do the following:

• Buy a Domain (if available): http://www.OverlandParkGardenStore.com or something similar.
• I would make the Title of that Website: Overland Park Garden Store
• I would make include the phrase "Overland Park garden store" several times throughout the website.
• Include a Call-to-Action (CTA), like Buy Now, Call, Subscribe, Vote, Like, Follow, etc.

I would also do this for each PROFITABLE category of products or services that I sell.

Using the local Overland Park, Kansas garden store example, I might try things like...

• Overland Park garden hoses
• Overland Park plant fertilizer
• Overland Park weed killer

You can play with these, but this is the first (1st) thing I would do.  I would have a landing page for each.

2. Articles

After creating Landing Pages, I would write articles.  Articles help establish credibility, because you have a chance to write "How to" articles or "List of" articles.  You can provide "Tips."

These help establish you as the expert.

Once I wrote the articles, here is what I would with them.

• Write about Hot Topics (give tips, expert advice, good reference lists)
• Include the Location in the Title (i.e. 3 Ways Your Overland Park Garden Store Can Help You Weed Less") - Notice the Overland Park in the title?
• Attach these Articles to My (Your) Website's Blog (This helps establish your website.)
• Submit Articles to Article Directories (i.e. these change, but EZine and GoArticles are pretty good today - but only do this AFTER you submit this to your blog)

Article submission is not what it used to be for SEO (search engine optimization), but they still make good "traps" in a mass effort, because they give you an opportunity to answer questions that people have.  Hopefully, they keep seeing YOUR name as the LOCAL expert.

The real value here, though, is that blogs make your website more valuable, because it will have more content.  Plus, each blog post gets its own URL, meaning that it can be found separately from your overall website.

3. Profiles

We all have created profiles, even if we did not know that what we were doing.

Whenever you sign for an account anywhere online, the website usually asks you for information about yourself.

Most of the time, we complete the LEAST amount possible on these online profiles.  (I can be guilty of this, too!)  However, when we are marketing our store, we want to provide as MUCH information as possible.

• Choose a User Name that includes your Keyword + Location (i.e. OverlandParkGardenStore)
• Include that phrase within the Profile Descriptions - Note Descriptions is PLURAL!
• Include a link to your Website--even if it is not "clickable"
• List the Services, Products, and Categories of Products/Services that you offer (Be thorough!  More words = Better chance of getting found)
• List the cities in the Surrounding Area (Again, more cities = better chance of getting found)

Some profiles seem to be more effective than others.  Always check search other people's names to see which websites keep ranking on Page1 or Page 2.

Here is a decent starter list, based on today's unofficial "Google Rules."

• Facebook (especially a Facebook Fan Page)
• Google (View Profile then Edit Profile)
• YouTube (Your YouTube Channel)
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

There are always more, but these will help you get started.

4. Videos

Videos are something that so many people are "going to do" but never get around to it.

Videos take a little more time to make, but they take a lot less time to optimize.  They have strong SEO value, and there is less competition to rank with them.

You can rank on YouTube OR Google with a video.  That's right!  It's pretty easy to rank on Google for many long-tail keyword phrases, just like Overland Park garden store...or whatever local store you are promoting.

Branding Your Business / Targeting Niche SEO Keyword Phrase

You can make videos for quick branding and advertising purposes, like this Sterling Heights moving company video:

Establish Yourself as the Expert / Answer a Question / Give Tips

You can make videos that explain things or give tips.  When you have enough videos that people keep finding--even when they are NOT searching for you, guess who they start to see as the expert?

Here is an example of a video that gives 4 Tips for Writing Blogs:

Those are 4 ways I'd market a local store online to get found on Google...AND how I would position myself as the expert once they search me online.

If you're a business owner, are YOU really serious about marketing yourself online?

What other suggestions do you have to market local businesses online?

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