Search engine optimization is an incredibly popular marketing approach these days. If you are using it to promote your product or service, you likely face numerous competitors, many of whom boast marketing budgets that dwarf yours.

This, however, doesn’t mean that you can’t win – using geo-targeting, you can pick your fights and precisely concentrate your efforts on the target demographics that will bring you the best results. Here’s how.

1. Dig deeper into demographic and geographic data

It is a normal practice for marketers to run demographic analysis to decide on the best target areas for the launch of new products – it allows them to locate markets with high concentrations of potential customers and good income prospects. However, if you want to get more out of it, you should dig deeper and run an additional evaluation of how difficult it is going to be to reach your target customers. For example, you may want to choose a market with a lower total number of customers but with a higher percentage of the target demographic because it will be easier to reach out to them.

2. Optimize for Google Local Search

According to Google, at least 73 percent of online activity is connected with local searches in this or that way. In practice, it means that when people are looking for something online, they are looking for something that is close by. If you want people to deal with your business, you need to make sure they know you are there when they are nearby. This means you must sign up for Google My Business, but to optimize your efforts it may be necessary to use a proper local listings management tool.

3. Target location-specific keywords

Going after highly competitive words in your industry is a futile effort for all but the largest brands with enormous marketing budgets. However, taking these highly competitive keywords and adding the name of your location to them can help you bypass most of your competition and concentrate on people who are looking for your product or service at their location.

4. Exclude locations where your target audience isn’t present

Similarly to how you decide which locations you want to reach out to, you can decide which locations you want to avoid. Any location that can be specifically targeted can be excluded. Why would you do this? To save costs trying to attract customers where you don’t expect them to be. For example, clubs and bars that target college students can exclude locations around campuses during breaks when students are away. The business saves money without missing out on customers.

5. Use geo-fencing

Geo-fencing means establishing a perimeter around the location of your business in which your ads are delivered. For example, a café may only deliver its ads within one-mile radius because outside this radius would bring quickly diminishing returns. Another even more useful opportunity is to define perimeter not by distance, but by time. You could, for example, use a platform that analyzes your location and determines how long it takes to get to you from different places. The aforementioned café, for example, could then target only locations within a 15-minute walking distance for maximum effect.

6. Use location-specific landing pages

Geotargeting isn’t just about targeting the right customers. It is also about offering them relevant content when they most need it. If geo-targeting helps you find the right client, make sure to show them a landing page that reflects the reason why they decided to click your link. Alternatively, you can detect the client’s location when they visit your site and demonstrate a relevant landing page. For example, you may show different offers depending on the neighborhood they come from: a premium-class for those from high-income neighborhoods, economy-class for those from lower-income ones.

These are, of course, not all potential strategies for using geo-targeting. The good thing about this approach is that it is only limited by your own ingenuity – you can find numerous viable strategies on your own depending on your industry and location.

For more digital marketing strategies, see MMS: Engaging Consumers Through Richer Communication.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Digitalist Magazine