81% of consumers go online to search for products and services to make local buying decisions. This has big businesses beginning to see that local marketing should be at the core of their marketing plans. In addition to looking at the big picture, there is a compelling need to optimise locally. Here are a few ways location marketing can lead to successful customer conversions.

Laying a location marketing foundation

Before you do anything, make sure your NAP (name, address, phone number) is 100% accurate. 73% of people lose trust in the brand when the listings are incorrect. Even more importantly, accurate NAP helps make sure you are found by people ready to buy. Each location also benefits from having accurate and dedicated landing pages, which should each tell a story for each individual location. Winter boots may be a must in Minnesota, but your Arizona page might feature shorts all year round. Adding as much localised information as possible will help create your story, enabling searchers to become shoppers.

The next key is ensuring this content is managed, which can be a struggle for big brands because of their sheer scale. Hiring a local search agency can help with both the account management and technological execution.

Get customers on the move to come to you

Over 80% of “near me” searches are done on mobile devices. Location marketing can help turn those searchers into shoppers. In addition to ensuring pages are mobile ready and work well on the smaller screen, adding a click-to-call tag helps potential shoppers take action. You also need to ensure you appear in the top three searches, or there is a large chance your potential customer won’t see you.

Make it easy for customers to leave reviews

90% of consumers say buying decisions are influenced by online reviews and 88% trust online reviews as much as personal referrals. Those statistics are not something to ignore. Reviews are a strong factor in Google rankings, which in turn will help you gain one of the top three search spots. Some tips to generate more reviews include:

• Making the process user-friendly and easy for customers to do. The more straight-forward the review process is, the more likely customers are to complete the task.

• Asking nicely and thanking the customer when they leave a review. And of course, address any concerns and thank them personally where appropriate.

• Making sure your employees understand the importance of soliciting the reviews from their customers. Maybe offer an incentive to employees with the top number of reviews.

There is a ton of competition out there in the local search bubble. When Google decreased the number of display results to three from seven in 2015, the competition for those top spots became even fiercer. By making sure local marketing is at the foundation of your marketing plan, you can turn those searchers into shoppers. Making sure you have dedicated pages that are accurate, mobile friendly and keeping your reputation management systems front of mind will help increase your marketing ROI. When it comes to local marketing, where you are matters as much as who you are.

Molly Livermore is Director of Business Development at DAC – Chicago.

DAC  is a digital marketing agency that caters to the digital lifestyle. We create, execute and continually optimise campaigns that are local, relevant, social and multi-device. We drive performance at every level, connecting buyers to sellers at the right place and time.  To learn more about Local Listing Managment please get in touch with DAC!