Being a business that largely revolves around online marketing in Brisbane, we’re still surprised by how many companies neglect the parts of their online activities that would benefit them in a local sense. Geo-targeting in particular is something that is on offer for pretty much any platform that you could imagine as it’s such a useful technology. And yet although we do increasingly see local businesses taking advantage of the wealth of information available to them on how to engage online, this part still appears to be lacking. Sure there are many people targeting location-based keywords with their SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and Google Ads and businesses that are talking to people in their local area via social media, but it goes a fair bit deeper than that. So today we thought we’d give you a few general things to think about in that regard along with a few resources that you can use to get started.
Also when you’re sifting through these resources and figuring out what you could use, try to remember to be consistent across as many of these platforms as you’re using. Consistency is key in all areas of your online activity so try not to tunnel focus in on one particular area and use this information to transform your approach with every platform that you’re using.
Social Media
When it comes to digital marketing in Brisbane specifically, Facebook and Instagram (Instagram is owned by Facebook) have a huge range of geo targeting options available in that you can target literally anything they have on offer in the way of user interests, but cut it down to only people with those particular interests within a particular area. This gets specifically useful for service based businesses without a physical location such as dog groomers or mobile mechanics for example. You can also target the activities of Facebook and Instagram users based on where they are and what they’re doing as it knows when they’re near you and can take a pretty good educated guess at whether or not they’re currently in need of what you have on offer.
For guides on how to explore some of these features, try the following:
Google AdWords
The ability to target people in specific areas who are performing searches allows you to catch a uniquely motivated audience as they’re looking for the products and services that you offer. They are at exactly the right point in the buying cycle and if you’re a local business then you can likely bet on the idea that you’ll be their first port of call if you get in front of these people with solutions to their problems. It’s an essential part of online marketing to a Brisbane audience and one of the most motivated audiences you can appear to.
For a few tutorials on these ideas, try the below:
Google Play/App Store
If you’re a business with an app, then there are a variety of reasons you might need to geo-target where it shows up in the online stores. For one your app might function around geo-targeting (anything that revolves around local businesses, augmented reality applications, apps that give directions or local information, etc). You might also only have a license to sell in particular countries or simply have not have the app available in some languages. Whatever your reason, it’s a simple matter of setting location settings within either the Google Play or Apple App Store so that you are presenting to the right people in the right areas.
If you’d like a guide on how to do this, try these links:
- Google Play
- Apple App Store – There are a few great non-location based tips in here for app advertisers too!
Local SEO
Even Google’s organic (non-paid) search results account for geo-targeted traffic. If you’ve ever seen a map listing then you know what we’re talking about, however it goes much deeper than that. Aside from having location based keyword targeted content onsite, location based link building is a great way to increase relevance for these keywords. Are you friends with the businesses around you? Why not swap links on your websites? It’s also worth seeing if you could perhaps be mentioned on local websites even if it doesn’t result in a link. This type of local indicator is called a “citation” and will definitely still contribute positively to your local presence.
For more info on how to boost your local rankings, try these articles:
Content Marketing
If you’re blogging, have you considered leaning your content in a local direction? How often have you spoken about the local area in relation to your products and services in blogs and social media posts? Do you present as a part of the community or a cold retail commodity? If you’re not engaging with your local community via your online communications and then geo-targeting via one, more, or all of the above mentioned platforms then we doubt that you’ve managed to realise your full potential as a local business yet. You could also bring in people from other local businesses to blog for you or blog in conjunction with you to show that you really are connected to the area. There is a lot of opportunity in this sense and it will turn your blog from a common business tool into a vibrant and engaging information hub for the local community.
For a rundown on how you might create great local content, here are a few ideas:
- How to build a local audience
- A more general guide to great blogging
That’s it from us for another day! We hope you find these resources useful and manage to transform/rethink your efforts with regards to online marketing in Brisbane or any other geo-target you’d like to engage!
As usual, if you’d like us to elaborate on anything to do with Brisbane online marketing or have any questions then please feel free to comment below or get in touch!
