For a company to be successful, it must have a strong marketing strategy. With the help of marketing automation, you can improve your marketing campaigns and expand your business to more customers. However, some tools and best practices can be used to ensure your localized marketing campaign is performing at its peak performance level.
The Future of Search is Local
Just recently, Google unveiled big updates to its Local Search function. These included the capability to narrow down restaurant searches to menus and dishes in the newly unveiled Live View. These and other local search trends highlight one key important fact for businesses online – the future of search is local.
A localized marketing campaign aims to target the customer based on where they are and what they're doing rather than relying on broad demographic information. The most common approach for this is hyperlocalized marketing, which involves reaching out to users based on their location, interests, and other information. You'll see higher engagement rates and conversions when your strategy is hyperlinked.
Hyperlocalized marketing also allows you to target users at the right time and place. This could help increase brand awareness among customers who may not otherwise be familiar with your business model or products if they'd only seen it online before visiting one of your brick-and-mortar stores in person.
Localize Your Content
Localizing content is a must to make your marketing strategy more effective and boost the ROI of your campaigns. Here are some ways to do so:
Use local keywords. Localized keyword research will help you find the most relevant keywords for your target markets. This can be done by analyzing search patterns in each market and identifying which terms are more likely to convert.
Pay attention to SEO factors like title tags, meta descriptions, and image names/alt attributes. Everything should have proper localization so they can rank better. Keep things consistent across all platforms (social media posts etc.) so that everyone who interacts with us knows precisely what kind/style message we're trying to convey at any given moment!
Minimize Translation Errors
One way to achieve localization is through translation. The first thing you need to do is translate the original content into your target language. Ensure the translated copy is contextually correct, culturally appropriate, and relevant to your target audience. It also needs to be in the same voice as its English counterpart; otherwise, it will not sound natural and flow seamlessly with its source material.
Manage Multilingual Content
To manage multilingual content, you can use a tool like Word2vec to translate text. You can also use Google Cloud Translation API to translate text. Google's current translation API market share is 4%, which shows competitors in the scene. You may also want to explore tools like DeepL and Bing Translation API.
Use Localized Landing Pages
Google recently brought back landing page reports to GA4 analytics, which should make localized marketing even more effective. Your local landing pages should be designed for the targeted local keyword and should also consider time localization.
For example, if you're selling winter jackets in Canada, you'll want to ensure that the URL of your landing page includes the word "winter" so that it will appear in search results when people are looking for winter jackets. This way, you'll attract customers specifically looking for items related to winter weather conditions, not just generic products or services.
Localize offerings as well as websites. Offering products or services relevant to each locality's unique needs is essential. Otherwise, they won't be attractive enough to customers with different preferences and styles than what you are used to.
Geo-Targeted Ads
Geo-targeted ads are a great way to reach your customers, especially if you have a brick-and-mortar location. Your customers can see relevant ads when they're in the area of your store or proximity to it. You'll also be able to target specific customer segments based on their location, such as people who live nearby but haven't bought from you yet or those who've already made purchases at your establishment.
You may also want to consider creating geo-targeted ads for people who speak a specific language since this will help you reach out to those customers precisely without wasting money by advertising to those who don't understand what you're saying.
Location-Aware Content Marketing
Let's discuss how you can use local content marketing to engage your audience, provide value, and increase conversions.
Localized content marketing is a strategy that incorporates location-specific information into your online marketing efforts. The AJ Center can help you create and target content based on where people frequently search for it.
Localized content allows brands to reach users in specific geographic areas where they're likely to have greater brand affinity than those who don't live nearby or travel through their area regularly (think regional sports teams).
An excellent example of this would be if a person searched "SEO services" on Google in San Francisco but wasn't finding any listed business that specialized in SEO work within their city limits.
With properly localized content, Google could show them your listing, and they would be happy to contact you. People often prefer to work with local businesses because it saves them money and there is a personal touch to service delivery.
Location-Based Keyword Targeting
Location-based keyword targeting is targeting your ad to people searching for something specific in your location. This can be an effective strategy, especially if you want to target people in your area, or it can help you get more clicks and conversions by targeting people with very specific searches.
For example, if someone is looking for "sushi near me," they're probably going to click on an ad that says "Sushi Delivery Near You." This way, you're showing up as the only sushi restaurant that person sees—and when they click on the link in your ad, it takes them straight to a page where they can order food from you!
Trade Area Mapping
Trade area mapping is used to identify your target audience and their geographical areas. It's a great way to determine where to market and what ads will resonate with them. Once you've identified your trade areas, it's time to localize your marketing automation software.
Mapping out the target market area allows you to create more specific campaigns by geography. You'll be able to reach consumers based on their location through geo-fencing or using mobile devices or apps like Foursquare that deliver targeted messages based on where people are going in real time. These tactics allow for better targeting, so less money is wasted on customers outside of an area with high ROI potential (return on investment).
GMB Business Listing
One of the best ways to get customers through localized marketing automation is by creating a Google My Business listing on Google. This will allow you to rank above your competitors who do not have a GMB listing or poorly optimized listings. You can create an excellent GMB listing by following these steps:
- Check that your address information is correct and accurate.
- Ensure all contact information is listed (phone number, email address, etc.)
- Use all available fields to fill in additional details about your business
- Include hours of operation, categories/categories related keywords), images and videos, etc.)
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is the most widely used local marketing automation analytics tool. It's free, easy to use, and you don't need to be a web developer to get started. If you're looking for a way to track your local traffic, app usage, or downloads, then Google Analytics should have you covered.
Once installed on your website, Google Analytics will automatically collect data points and make them available in real-time on their interface (or via custom reports). You'll see what pages people visit most often and other helpful information like top referrers and conversion rates by device type or city location.
Geofencing APIs
Geofencing allows marketers to target people who visit specific locations. For example, suppose you want to offer summer visitors special rates at your hotel in January 2023. In that case, you can use Geo-fence APIs to limit your website's access to people in Australia. This new way of targeting is more accurate than traditional methods like zip codes and postal codes because it uses GPS technology to pinpoint the exact location of a device or person.
These days there are several APIs available for geofencing: Google Maps API, Foursquare API, Facebook Places API, and Yelp API, some examples of popular ones among others. While all these APIs have their pros and cons (for example, some provide precise location information but for only a limited number of devices), this article will focus on Facebook Places API due to its popularity among marketers today
QR Codes
QR codes are one of the most-used forms of localized mobile marketing today. They are a quick way to get local business information in front of potential customers.
You can use them on your website, social media, or print materials such as flyers, business cards, and posters. QR Codes can also be used as direct links to email capture pages on your website that allow you to collect emails from interested prospects who have shown interest in learning more about your company or products/services.
GPS
GPS stands for Global Positioning System and uses satellite signals to locate the exact position of a mobile device. This technology is used in mobile phones, tablet computers, and other devices that require GPS tracking to function properly. Some companies utilize this technology to personalize their customer experience by offering location-based services such as coupons based on where you are when you use your smartphone or tablet computer.
This service has become increasingly popular because it allows marketers to target specific audiences using their physical location data rather than relying solely on demographic information like age and gender that may not be relevant to everyone within those populations (such as homeschooling parents).
Yelp
Yelp is a local review site that allows users to post reviews of local businesses, restaurants, and other services. Users can search these reviews when they need to decide on where to spend their money.
Yelp has been in business since 2004 and has become one of the most influential sources for people looking for local companies.
90% of local consumers consult online reviews before visiting a business. So if you don't have any or aren't getting any new ones, Yelp can help you get more customers in the door by boosting your visibility on their platform.
Google Map Reviews
Google Map Reviews are now a ranking factor. If you do not include GMP on your website, you're missing out on an opportunity to get reviews and rank higher in Google Maps. We've also seen that if a company has more than one location, it's even more critical to have GMP on each of those locations' websites.
Google Map Localized Businesses (GMLBs) allow businesses to show up with different names and addresses in other languages and countries. This means that if someone searches, English-speaking users will see "Jack's Grocery," while Spanish-speaking users will see "Jack's Supermercado."
In Summary
Localized marketing automation is an incredible way to optimize your customer experience and drive more sales. You can do this by taking advantage of data already in your CRM, email service provider, or marketing automation platform. The key is ensuring you have a complete picture of your customers so that you can segment them into groups based on their needs and preferences.
Then, automate sending personalized messages with relevant offers based on what people have done in the past--or even what they may do next! If you need help getting started with localized marketing automation workflows today, contact us for more information on how we can help.
