In my previous article, I discussed the “free and fast” section of Wordstream’s article about low-budget marketing. The set of tips for this week take more time, but the price is still low to none. If you have more time than money, these are a good marketing investment.
Improve your Local Search Engine Optimization. Google’s goal is to deliver accurate, high-quality, and relevant matches for each search. With local listings (the ones below the map in the search results), you actually have a chance of being included. What to do:
- Use your location, city, or metro area in your page text. Include it in keyword phrases (Toledo Shoe Repair), photo alternate names (Alt tags), image names, page titles, and descriptions.
- List yourself in online directories using the same information each time.
- Publish pages or posts that are specifically for the areas you serve. For example, make a page just targeted to the name “Toledo Shoe Repair” and a similar page for “Perrysburg Shoe Repair.” These are ‘landing pages’ specifically designed to rank highly for the local listing. Use the keyphrase with the location at least 4-5 times and in all the places listed in the first bullet.
Use Email Marketing
Email marketing keeps you top-of-mind. Even if recipients don’t read each issue, they still see your name. Email remains one of the most reliable ways to get results. Increase your results by:
- Carefully choose your subject lines. Use creativity.
- Craft each email to encourages readers to take action.
- Split and test your email with two different subject lines (A/B testing) and content, and track your results to find out what works for your audience.
Some more easy email marketing ideas:
- Offer something free to those who sign up for your newsletter. Or a discount or special offer.
- Focus on building a relationship with your readers, not just closing a sale. People don’t like being sold to. They do like being educated.
- Include information infographics. Visuals work faster, and infographics are eye-catching. Don’t have any data to share? You can get data and statistics from government sites like data.gov and the World Health Organization, for example.
Next article: More marketing low-cost, time-consuming ideas that work!
