Local digital marketing is a strategy that focuses on promoting a business’s products or services to customers in a specific geographic area using digital channels like search engines, social media, online directories, and location-based advertising to drive foot traffic and local engagement. Or, in a simpler manner, it’s a digital way to acquire local customers. Why, how, and whether this should be even of interest to you as a digital marketer or business owner?
Well, let’s give the floor to the numbers. Search Engine Roundtable reports that 46% of Google searches have local intent, while according to Brightlocal, three out of four consumers “always” or “regularly” check online reviews when looking for local businesses. Conclusion? If you sell your products or services to local audiences, local digital marketing is not a matter of choice – it’s a must! At least if you’d like to stay effective and outperform your competitors (who – I’m quite sure – use it too).
In this article, I’ll analyze why local digital marketing is important, what benefits it can provide to companies, and which activities are the most efficient. I’ll also demonstrate how it works in practice based on three real-world examples and provide you with a set of actionable tips for a good start.
No further ado, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.
What is Local Digital Marketing?
Local digital marketing (also known as local online marketing) is a targeted approach to promoting a business within a specific geographic area using online tools and strategies. It’s especially beneficial for businesses that rely on local customers, such as restaurants, retail stores, service providers, and brick-and-mortar establishments.
By leveraging location-specific keywords, geo-targeted ads, and local business directories, companies can connect directly with their nearby audience and drive foot traffic to their stores.
Key Components of Local Digital Marketing
Local digital marketing strategies heavily rely on search engine marketing (comprising both organic searches and paid advertising), social media interactions, collecting reviews, and fostering community engagement. Its major advantage lies in the ability to cater to the unique preferences and behaviors of the local audience through each of these domains. Let’s cover them in a bit more detail.
Local SEO
Local SEO (search engine optimization) is the foundation of any local digital marketing strategy, as it makes your business appear in search results when customers look for services nearby. This involves optimizing your website with location-specific keywords (e.g., “best pizza in Chicago”), creating and managing a Google My Business profile, and ensuring your business information (name, address, phone number) is consistent across all online directories.
Local SEO also includes earning backlinks from local websites and publishing content relevant to your community, such as blog posts about local events or tips.
Geo-Targeted Advertising
Geo-targeted advertising allows businesses to display ads to users based on their physical location. Platforms like Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and social media ads channels (e.g., those available on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram) let you define a radius around your business or target specific cities and neighborhoods. This guarantees your ad spend is focused on an audience that is most likely to visit your store.
You can also use advanced targeting features, such as targeting customers near competitors, promoting special offers to nearby users, or running location-specific seasonal campaigns.
Online Reviews and Ratings
Customer reviews significantly influence local buying decisions. Positive reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor not only enhance your business’s reputation but also improve your ranking in local search results.
Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews by sending follow-up emails or offering incentives, and always respond to reviews (positive or negative) to show your engagement. Consistent, high ratings build trust with potential customers and provide valuable feedback for improving your services.
Social Media Engagement
Social media platforms are excellent tools for engaging with your local audience. By sharing content like community stories, behind-the-scenes videos, and localized promotions, you can foster a sense of connection with your followers.
Features like Facebook Events, Instagram Stories, and location-based hashtags allow businesses to amplify their reach. Regular interaction through comments, polls, and live sessions helps establish your brand as approachable and customer-focused.
Community Involvement
Being active in your local community can enhance your business’s visibility and trustworthiness. Sponsoring local events, collaborating with other businesses, or participating in charity demonstrates your commitment to the area.
These efforts can also be highlighted on your digital platforms to further connect with your audience. Community involvement not only builds goodwill but also creates opportunities for generating organic content, such as photos or videos from events, that can be shared online.
What is the Importance of Local Digital Marketing?
Local digital marketing is vital for businesses aiming to establish a strong connection with their nearby customers and win a competitive edge in the local market. It enables brands to deliver hyper-personalized messages matched with the unique preferences and needs of a local audience. Furthermore, this kind of marketing supports businesses in adapting to:
- regional trends,
- seasonal demands,
- and cultural nuances,
making their marketing campaigns more relevant and impactful.
By effectively integrating localized strategies, businesses can strengthen their presence within their community and foster long-term customer loyalty.
What is the Importance of Local Digital Marketing for Small Business?
A great share of small businesses are local businesses, so local marketing (including local digital marketing as a crucial part) is the only method they can use to compete with other brands and conquer the local market.
What are the Benefits of Local Digital Marketing?
The list of local digital marketing benefits includes improved local visibility, maximized ROAS (return on ad spend), more potential customers in your mortar stores, enhanced business presence on the local market, increased engagement, and more conversions. These benefits are fundamental and the most “direct” ones, but there are also a few more, making local digital marketing attractive in the long-term perspective (or in a more “indirect” way). Here is a full list:
- enhanced local visibility – local digital marketing ensures your business appears in location-specific searches, helping nearby customers discover your products or services,
- cost-effective advertising – by targeting a specific, precisely determined geographic area, businesses can optimize their ad spend, focusing only on the audience most likely to convert, reducing wasted resources on irrelevant leads,
- increased foot traffic and sales – strategies like geo-targeted ads and Google My Business optimization directly drive customers to your physical location, increasing in-store visits and sales opportunities,
- improved customer engagement – local digital marketing allows businesses to connect with their community through social media interactions, local events, and personalized content, fostering loyalty and trust among customers,
- higher conversion rates – by focusing on a relevant, nearby audience, local digital marketing often leads to higher conversion rates since the campaigns are fitted to the needs and preferences of potential customers in the area (they are not displayed to people from other areas, which surely won’t be your clients,
- boosted online reputation – encouraging positive reviews and responding to customer feedback improves your online reputation, making your business more attractive to potential customers searching for reliable local options,
- adaptability to local trends – businesses can quickly adjust their marketing strategies to address local events, holidays, or trends, ensuring their campaigns remain timely and relevant,
- strengthened community connections – involvement in community events or partnerships with local organizations showcases your commitment to the area, which can enhance customer trust and brand loyalty,
- competitive edge – local digital marketing helps businesses stand out among competitors by targeting hyper-local audiences and leveraging their unique regional appeal,
- improved data insights – through local campaigns, businesses gain valuable data on customer behavior, preferences, and engagement, allowing for continuous optimization of marketing efforts.
What are the Benefits of Local Digital Marketing for Small Business?
The key benefit of local digital marketing for SMB companies or solo entrepreneurs is providing cost-effective strategies to reach local customers without the need for broad, expensive campaigns.
Let’s examine a local SEO example. If you run a shoe store in Hiroshima, it would be hard to rank in Google or on Instagram for keywords or hashtags like “best shoe store in Japan” and win clients from all around Japan. I bet that some global brands invest at least thousands of dollars to be displayed on this phrase. If not, a few fashion giants from Shibuya do it. In such circumstances, it’s better for you to rank for narrower audiences with keywords like “best shoe store in Hiroshima”. This way you’ll:
- acquire potential customers, who are most likely to buy (as they live near your store)
- and avoid wasting money on competing with big brands with big budgets (if you can’t win rivalry, it’s far better to step back and put your efforts into more strategic directions and activities).
How to Use Local Digital Marketing?
To use local digital marketing effectively, start by listing your business in local online directories (like Google Business Profile), then utilize social media ads targeted by location to promote special offers or events directly to nearby customers, and, as a final step, incorporate location-based keywords in your website content to boost organic traffic from local searches.
3 Examples of Successful Local Digital Marketing
Now that you know the theory, let’s examine three real examples of successful digital marketing campaigns from different areas across various countries. It should give you a more practical understanding of what is local digital marketing and how it is implemented.
1. Harcourts Rata & Co (Melbourne, Australia)
Harcourts Rata & Co is a prominent real estate agency in Melbourne, Australia, specializing in property sales, rentals, and property management. They offer comprehensive services to clients, including assistance with buying, selling, leasing, and property development. The agency operates multiple offices across Melbourne’s northern suburbs, including locations in Mill Park, Reservoir, Thomastown, and Epping. They exploit a few areas of local online marketing.
Due to the nature of the real estate branch, the key is to be present at business listings, namely, online local listings of real estate ready to buy or sell. These are places where potential customers are more likely to find potential contractors. Local listings management may be time-consuming, but it is unavoidable in this business niche.
The next must-have in local marketing for real estate is collecting positive user feedback to be shared with potential clients. Harcourts Rata & Co do it, among others, through the portal realestate.com.au:
Additionally, the company engages with its target audience on social media portals, particularly on Instagram. It eagerly publishes images of interiors, new locations available to sell, or internal events.
Finally, they have a website inviting to their local offices. They highlight their contribution to the community through various campaigns, like the one dedicated to supporting local businesses:
2. YOR Dental (Manchester, United Kingdom)
YOR Dental is a private dental practice located in Salford Quays, Manchester, offering a range of general and cosmetic dentistry services. Their treatments also include dental implants, composite bonding, and dental veneers.
They operate in the Manchester, UK area, so they target their ads on this region. You can check it while searching in Google for local keywords like “Manchester dentist” or “Manchester dental services”. Here is how the search engine results pages you’ll see may look like:
If you click on the link in the ad, you’ll be immediately redirected to their landing page with many local digital marketing elements included. For example, the expose the physical address and telephone number on the top bar, which is not common on landing pages directed to global audiences. They also placed a map in the footer and used the integrated calendar for booking consultations.
Moving forward, YOR Dental attempts to engage local customers through social media marketing. They are especially active on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, with new content pieces added regularly, at least 2-3 times a month. There are many video reviews, video explainers on medical procedures and before-after (the treatment) images.
And finally, the heart of their local digital marketing efforts – their Google Business profile:
3. La Lolita (Barcelona, Spain)
La Lolita is a restaurant located at Rambla de Catalunya, 27, in Barcelona, Spain, offering a blend of traditional Spanish and Catalan cuisine, featuring a variety of tapas, classic starters, and paellas. The menu emphasizes quality ingredients and traditional cooking methods to deliver authentic flavors.
Local digital marketing for restaurants heavily rely on Google. The most famous restaurants pay for Google Ads to appear on the top of the SERPs, while almost each one use Google Business Profile for marketing purposes. La Lolita utilizes it to provide directions for customers with a map, present surroundings and interior of the restaurant through images, collect reviews or even make reservations.
Another “must” for restaurants is a landing page or website with a detailed menu and appealing food images, an integrated reservation system, and direction hints.
The last pillar of La Lolita’s online marketing plan is social media marketing. They use mainly Instagram and Facebook to provide limited-time offers and professional food images.
Facebook also allows them to get pinned by guests, which increases local traffic.
The sponsorship of local events and communicating about it in their SM is the last method they bet on.
10 Proven Local Digital Marketing Tips
Local digital marketing involves various marketing activities to reach and persuade your target audience, from optimizing your Google Business Profile through enhancing SEO and collecting user feedback to running social media campaigns. Each of these points (and a few additional ones) deserves a bit more attention. Let’s then expand on them, starting from the most relevant to the least important ones (or applicable only in individual cases).
1. Optimize Your BGP
Start by claiming your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business). Fill in every detail:
- business name,
- address,
- phone number,
- operating hours,
- description of your services.
Upload high-quality photos of your storefront, products, or services, as they help potential customers visualize what to expect. Regularly update your profile with posts about promotions, new products, or events.
Example: A local coffee shop can post photos of their new seasonal latte along with an offer like, “Get 10% off your first order this fall”. This way it’s more likely to appear high in search results and persuade users to explore further or even pay a visit immediately.
2. Leverage Local SEO
Local SEO focuses on optimizing your website to rank higher in searches with local intent, such as “pizza delivery near me” or “affordable dentist in Miami”. Use location-specific keywords in your website’s meta titles, descriptions, and content.
Additionally, create location-specific landing pages if you have multiple branches.
Example: A plumbing company could have pages titled “Emergency Plumbing Services in Dallas” and “Leak Repair in Fort Worth”, each targeted at specific areas. Including details like local landmarks, neighborhoods, and service-specific keywords increases visibility in those locations.
3. Encourage Online Reviews
Online reviews are one of the most influential factors in local digital marketing. Actively ask satisfied customers to leave reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, or TripAdvisor. To make the process seamless, provide links to your review pages via email, SMS, or receipts.
Example: A spa could send a follow-up email after an appointment saying, “Loved your visit? Leave us a review and enjoy 10% off your next service!”. This way, it provides additional value to clients in exchange for a little effort like writing a review (which is of great importance for a company).
4. Run Geo-Targeted Ads
Geo-targeted advertising ensures your ads are seen only by people in your chosen area, maximizing your return on ad spend. Platforms like Google Ads, Facebook, and Instagram allow you to define a radius around your business or target specific neighborhoods.
Example: A souvenir store in Manhattan could target ads to users within a 5-mile radius, showcasing its new product line, “Visit us today for exclusive NY souvenirs created by local artists”. By narrowing the audience, companies spend budgets on customers most likely to visit.
5. Engage with Social Media
Social media platforms are invaluable for connecting with local groups. Share content that resonates with your community, such as local news, customer stories, or collaborations with other local businesses. Use geotags and location-specific hashtags like #AustinEats or #ShopLocalLA to amplify your reach.
Example: A bakery could post a behind-the-scenes video of their staff preparing fresh croissants, tagging their location and using hashtags like #FreshInSeattle. This humanizes the brand and makes it more relatable to local customers.
6. Create Locally Relevant Content
Content marketing isn’t just about promoting products – it’s about adding value to your audience. Develop blog posts, videos, or infographics that focus on your area’s unique aspects. This could include guides, tips, or event highlights that tie into your business.
Example: A fitness studio in Boston might publish a blog titled “5 Best Outdoor Workout Spots in Boston” or create a YouTube video offering workout tips for local trails. Not only does this position their business as a local expert, but also helps attract organic traffic from search engines.
7. Participate in Community Events
Being part of local events shows your business’s commitment to the community. Sponsor or participate in fairs, charity runs, or school fundraisers, and promote your involvement on your website and social media.
Example: A local hardware store could sponsor a neighborhood clean-up day, providing tools and sharing photos and videos online. This fosters goodwill and creates shareable content that boosts your visibility.
8. Utilize Local Directories
List your business in local directories such as Yelp, Bing Places, and niche-specific platforms (e.g., TripAdvisor for travel-related businesses). Ensure that your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all platforms to avoid confusing customers or search engines.
Example: A restaurant could use OpenTable or Zomato for dining reservations, enhancing its discoverability for diners searching online.
9. Offer Localized Promotions
Create exclusive offers for your local customers, such as discounts for residents or deals tied to regional events.
Example: A bookstore might advertise, “10% off for all [City Name] students during back-to-school season!”. This will surely boost foot traffic and sales during targeted periods.
10. Use Geotags and Location-Based Features
Geotags on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat make your social media posts more discoverable to users in your area. Encourage customers to tag your location in their posts for user-generated content. Also, make sure your business offices are tagged on Google Maps.
Example: rooftop bar could incentivize customers by offering a free drink for tagging their location and sharing a post on Instagram. This creates a snowball effect of visibility among the local audience.
What is the Role of Landing Pages in Local Digital Marketing?
Local landing pages are a key part of many digital marketing campaigns targeting a specific, regional audience, which is due to the level of personalization they provide, easy integration with paid advertising campaigns, and their potential to boost online presence.
Local businesses eagerly use landing pages as homepages, as they often don’t need a very extensive website with many subpages. They are light, quick, and content-rich, so they can also work great for search engine optimization.
Additionally, the best landing page builders have plenty of features catering to the needs of local marketers or business owners, enabling them to craft pages that are ideally aligned with very specific audiences (like local ones). I mean, at the forefront:
- high-level personalization with industry- and goal-specific templates, tons of images, fonts, styles, videos, visual effects, forms, pop-ups, and much more,
- multi-language translations, programmatic pages, dynamic content, and Smart Sections, all of which allow you to automatically adjust your sites (also in bulk!) to specific campaigns in no time,
- creating targeted copy and completing SEO for your pages with AI,
- analytics and optimization tools, including A/B testing page variants (e.g., comparing pages with different headlines or forms) or analyzing user on-page behavior data like clicks, scrolls, form submissions, etc. (it empowers you to make data-backed design modifications to increase conversions),
- integration with calendars, Google Maps, Google My Business, etc.
All these features are available in Landingi, currently also within a Free Plan and via trials for paid plans. Just sign up at no cost and test them to get some first-hand experience, which is necessary for taking the next steps in your local marketing expansion.
