How to Build a Successful Local Business on the Internet

By: Michiel Van Kets


Are you an owner or operator of a local business? If so, do you know who your customers are? Perhaps your target customers are those living in your community. How will you reach out to these people? Many local businesses advertise through radio, local newspapers, or other small local advertising mediums. These traditional mediums usually consist of distribution of handbills, hanging up notices, or advertising through your local television cable operator.

These techniques are quite outdated. Think you are doing business in the 1960s? You’re doing business in the 21st century. Guess what? You need to adapt your marketing and advertising to the changing times. You need to bring your marketing up to date. Forget the old methods of reaching out to customers. Those days are long, long gone. It’s time to move away from tradition and go with cutting edge. You need to use technology to create effective marketing that will maximize your potential in business. And that means maximizing your revenues.

The world we now live in has made tremendous advances in communication and technology. The first step to advertising effectively is to use local search engine marketing. Use the Internet. If you thought that the Internet is only used for targeting worldwide customers, you are wrong. It is used just as often to find a business nearby that offers the product or service needed. People no longer look through ads in newspapers to find services. Looking through a newspaper takes time. Reading through notices in the local grocery store takes time. Today, everyone’s time is valuable, and no one has the time to spend trying to find what they need. That’s why most people turn to the Internet. People might search for the name of your business or for the location name in combination with the product or service needed. And if you’re business is there, your local customer will find you. There’s no doubt about that!

Apart from this, you should ensure that information about your business and services spreads by word of mouth. For instance, discounts and small business coupons should be offered to customers at your business location. This is a more effective method than placing a small ad in a local newspaper. Besides, if someone uses your business and is pleased with the customer service received, he or she will be apt to share this pleasant experience with friends, relatives, and acquaintances. What a great way for your company name to grow – with minimal work on your part. It’s like advertising without you having to spend a lot of money.

Listing your business in a local business directory has many advantages because it also helps to improve your PageRank ratings and ranking in the search engines for your business’ entire web site. You can use a local directory submission to have your business listed in various directories without spending much. CitySlick is a North American local business search engine that gives local businesses the opportunity to market over the Internet. CitySlick uses the latest SEO techniques to list your business in an effective way. Try it.

Henal Patel is an editor at CitySlick, who specializes in local business marketing over the web. CitySlick helps consumers and businesses connect to each other in a cost effective way via search engines, ratings, coupons, bargaining tools, and more. The goal is to provide consumers a unique way to access local information.