Local Small Business Internet Marketing Made Easy for Local Entrepreneurs

Before the advent of Internet marketing, local businesses used print yellow pages, direct mail, business cards, and trade magazines to boost their sales and increase customers. While these mediums were proven to be effective, they were also expensive especially for those budding entrepreneurs. Today, Internet marketing is the new wave of product advertisement, and it became even more crucial when it gave birth to local small business Internet marketing to answer the marketing needs of local small business owners.

I am writing this article to give you all a brief run down on what is available out there. Essentially, there are a number of local small business Internet marketing options already available these days. And because they are localized marketing strategies, they are not as costly and as complicated as those used by larger corporations.

If you’d like to start on an easier ground, your first stop is to get your business listed on local directories like Yellowpages.com and SuperPages.com. Local online directories provide you opportunities to introduce your business to your local consumers. Most of these online directories offer free sign up, and all you have to make sure is provide updated information about your business. Keep in mind that these online directories are frequented by hundreds and thousands of people daily, looking for local businesses within their area. With that, you want to make sure that you’re giving your potential customers the correct means of contacting you.

Another strategy that has been made easy for local business owners is social networking. Unlike in the early stage of the Internet where social networking is all about finding friends, social networking nowadays is about connecting with old and new friends and promoting a business interest in a specific location. In the case of Facebook, you can create an official page for your local business to communicate with customers and fans. To make your official page localized, you will be given an option to choose city restrictions and age restrictions. These settings make your local business page only visible to the cities you selected.

Local search engine is also another local small business Internet marketing option for local small entrepreneurs. Google Local and Yahoo Local are two search engine giants that offer the system of connecting you to local searchers. Just like online directories, local search engines will require you to provide accurate business information as they will be visible in local listings on specific categories. With some search engines you will be required verification via phone or email. Local search engines, in general, helps you bring your local business to where your customers are.