Sales Loves Marketing

What is Local Marketing?

Local marketing is marketing aimed at people and businesses within a specific area around a company's location, rather than at a national or global audience. It covers local search listings, location-targeted ads, community events and word of mouth.

By Sales Loves Marketing teamOriginally written by Joran HofmanUpdated

Local marketing is marketing aimed at the people and businesses near you. Instead of trying to reach everyone, a company focuses on customers within a set distance of its office, store or service area. It is also called neighbourhood marketing or local store marketing.

Who uses local marketing?

  • Businesses with a physical location, such as shops, restaurants, clinics and gyms.
  • Service businesses that travel to the customer, such as installers, cleaners and IT support firms.
  • Franchises and multi-location brands, which add local campaigns to their national ones.
  • B2B firms that sell regionally, such as accountants, law firms, recruiters and commercial contractors, whose buyers often prefer a supplier nearby.

Why does local marketing matter?

Local marketing puts you in front of people at the moment they look for a supplier nearby, and keeps your name familiar between purchases. Being close also means you can meet customers in person, and satisfied local customers can recommend you to others in the area, which is word-of-mouth marketing at work.

How do local search results work?

Google says local results are mainly based on three factors:

  • Relevance: how well your Business Profile matches what someone searched for.
  • Distance: how far your business is from the person searching.
  • Prominence: how well known your business is, influenced by things such as links to your website and your review count and ratings.

Google also states that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. You improve it by keeping your profile complete, accurate and active.

Local marketing strategies

  1. Claim and complete your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business). Verify it, choose the right category, keep address, hours and special hours accurate, and add photos.
  2. Ask for reviews and reply to them. Google lists responding to reviews as a way to improve local ranking.
  3. Optimise your website for local search. Mention the places you serve, add a page per location if you have several, and add LocalBusiness structured data so Google can show your hours and details. See our local SEO guide.
  4. Keep your details consistent across directories, review sites and social profiles.
  5. Use location targeting in ads. Google Ads lets you target countries, areas within a country, or a radius around a location. Use geo-targeting so you only pay for clicks from your service area.
  6. Create local content, such as guides to regional rules or case studies with nearby customers.
  7. Show up in the community. Sponsor or speak at local events, join the chamber of commerce or business associations, and partner with complementary local firms.
  8. Use local media and direct mail where your audience still pays attention to them.

An example from B2B

A managed IT services company serves small offices within an hour's drive. It keeps its Business Profile up to date and asks every client for a review. It runs search ads limited to a radius around its office, publishes case studies with local clients, and hosts a quarterly breakfast on cybersecurity for local business owners. Each tactic is aimed at the same small area, so the budget isn't spent on people the company can't serve.

For more ideas, read local business marketing strategies.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between local marketing and local SEO?

Local SEO is one part of local marketing. It focuses on showing up when people nearby search on Google or maps, for example through a complete Business Profile and reviews. Local marketing also includes ads, events, partnerships, direct mail and community work.

How does Google decide which local businesses to show?

Google says local results are mainly based on relevance (how well a profile matches the search), distance from the searcher and prominence (how well known the business is, including links and reviews). Google also says you can't pay for a better local ranking.

Is local marketing useful for B2B companies?

Yes, when buyers prefer a supplier nearby or the service is delivered on site, such as IT support, office cleaning, accountants, recruitment agencies or commercial contractors. The tactics shift toward local business networks, events and region-targeted ads.