How To Get Your Local Business Online

Today, unlike ever before, it is important that local businesses establish their presence online in an effort to compete successfully with other local businesses and the gain more customers.

With smart phones becomming a necessity rather than our convenience, for most people information about local businesses and services are only a click away. In a bid to capture the attention of these tech savvy information seekers, local businesses are going online to have their presence felt on the World Wide Web.

This is how you can get your local business online:

Set up your own Website

With Content Management Platforms such as WordPress and Joomla you can set up your very own professional looking website in no time. But, before you start it is also important to find yourself a 'reliable web host' – so that your business does not have to suffer from down–time related issues. If you are inexperienced in web development it is important that you hire the services of a professional who will help you in setting up a professional website; based on your needs

Your website should contain information about your business, its locations, the products and services it offers, customer testimonials and the other relevant details. Also do not forget to link to your social media profiles from your website.

Tip: With domain names as cheap as they are these days, its important you shell out a little in getting a custom top-level domain (TLD) name for your business. A TLD shows your visitors that yours is a company which is professional in its approach and thus help establish credibility and build trust.

Local Listings

As more and more people turn to the web to discover local services, its important that you get your business listed in websites like 'Google Places' and start appearing in local search results.

Tip: If you are a local business, you can use the following location-based tools to improve your visibility online:

• Google Places
• Bing Local
• Yahoo Local Listings

Go Social

Today every individual with access to computers has a social-media account. Its important as a business owner, therefore, to turn to social media to promote your business. By being active on sites like Twitter, Facebook or Google+ etc you can establish a more personal relationship with your customers.

A recently published Nielsen Report says that 92% of consumers worldwide trust recommendations from friends and family over any form of advertising. Recommendations from your social media following can thus help you find more customers; herein lies the importance of social media marketing.

Google Adwords Express

You can use Google Adwords Express to advertise your business on Google. Google ad words express is a cost effective pay per click (PPC) advertising service for local businesses.

With a PPC advertising module you only pay when potential customers click on your ad for more information. By using Adwords Express you are ensuring that you appear in local search results relevant to your business.

Using Adwords Express is simple. All you need to do is to sign up for an account, choose your business category, create your advertisement, set your budget and you are good to go. There are no keywords to select and Adwords Express automatically manages when and where your ads are to appear.

Tip: If you are from a country where Adwords Express is not yet supported, you can use the basic Adwords service to advertise your business on Google.

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