Effective Local Online Advertising

Geo-targeting, or local advertising online, is a technique that allows an ad server to serve ads based on the web surfer’s geographic location. The power of this is obvious and undeniable, and it’s what allows the small business to leverage the Internet as a marketing tool just as well as the worldwide corporation does.

There are two other common targeting methods: contextual and behavioral. These are the methods most online marketers use, and we don’t tend to think of them in terms of local advertising. Contextual ad serving targets the web surfer based on the content they are browsing or searching. Behavioral targeting is more complex. It involves demographics as well as browsing, purchasing, and search histories.

Nevertheless, advertisers do not need to view local online advertising separate from those others. In fact, most effective marketing strategies will include all or some combination of these three methods. Likewise, we cannot consider these methods apart from format, and one of the most difficult aspects of this process is choosing the appropriate format.

Common formats used for local advertising online include graphical, text-based, and video. Graphical ads can be traditional web graphics or it might be more complex, such as Flash, which often blurs the line with video. Other types include advertorials, email ads, and even website or web service sponsorship. Not all geo-targeting has to be direct targeting. Sponsoring a website geared toward people who live in a particular state is a form of indirect geo-targeting.

It is also important to note that not all local advertising online has to cost money. There are many resources allow patrons to promote their business for no charge. This is passive marketing, therefore less effective, but one should never turn down a free opportunity to advertise a business online unless it forms a negative association.

Advertising a Local Business Online Effectively

• Have a separate web domain and professional web design. Great marketing means nothing if it directs those potential customers to a website that undermines confidence in the business. A social media page may be beneficial, but it should not substitute for the real thing.

• Take advantage of those free listings and the opportunities mentioned above. More importantly, keep a record of them, and keep them updated.

• Use the advertising budget to purchase the best format affordable for advertising local online. Graphic ads are much more visible and achieve greater response than text-based ads do.

• Use text-based ads if professional design of graphic or video advertisement is not compatible within the budget. An ad of inferior quality can do more harm than good.

• Continue to market locally through traditional means, but make sure that there is synergy or at least equality between the style and substance between those and the online ads.