Staying competitive on the internet can be a fairly difficult endeavor. There is a lot of forces at work all vying for the same pairs of eyes. It might seem logical to think that leaving the information available will be enough. If you want those local sales conversions, its time to take a good look at the Research Online Purchase Offline demographic. A recent study has shown that close to 80% of people buy their product offline after doing online research. Obviously, that is just one study. If we expand the scope and look at more; you can find statements of anywhere from 50-90% of customers are doing the same depending on what study you look at. The point is, no matter what study you look at; that is a lot of people.
Simply put, you want your products and business found when consumers are doing their research. Local online marketing specifically caters to the locale around you. That way, the person a half mile away searching for a product finds yours before a nationwide outlet. Local SEO is a very important niche when one considers the primary goal of search engines. They want to provide the most relevant information to their browsers. What is more relevant than a business that has the product they are seeking only a half mile away? Seems more relevant than a business with the product three states over.
That puts local business owners in a great position. If your local SEO strategy puts you at the forefront of search results on your product for your area; how many of those researchers are you going to be able to convert?
If you are using an online marketing strategy, is it appropriate for local online marketing? National exposure is all well and good. What good is it if the people finding your product live across the country? With as many people that Research Online Purchase Offline, it’s a fairly safe bet they are not going to buy from your business. They are going to go to their own local business and buy what they were researching. The way to remedy that is to increase exposure to local searchers.
Many of the ideas and thoughts presented here can seem intangible. It may seem hard to think that there is so many people simply doing their research and looking elsewhere. If you want a concrete way to consider the ramifications; think of the last month. How many times did you look up information for something online and then bought it elsewhere or offline? At least once, right? Probably several more times than that.
Local online marketing and local SEO strategies are the key to turning those browsers into buyers. If consumers doing research are finding your website and your information, it is a lot more likely they are going to come to your store to make that purchase. The best way to make that happen is to make your information friendly with the search engines. Your consumers are educated when they come in the door. Whose door do you want them entering to make that purchase?
