Local Advertising - How to Advertise Effectively at No Cost

Local advertising is a must for small businesses, particularly in the current difficult economic climate but strangely, for many small businesses, the advertising budget is one of the first things to be cut when sales start to wane.

Logically though, when times are tough and the general public are holding on to the money they have, this is the time you need to advertise most to make sure that those who do want to buy your type of product, or the type of service you provide, choose your company rather than one of your competitors.

Here are some ways that you can have the best of both worlds ... still continue with effective local advertising and find new customers but also reduce your advertising costs dramatically...

1. My first and foremost recommendation would be to learn about Local SEO for your website. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation so in other words it means making some changes to your website so you appear in the search engines (such as Google and Yahoo) when people search for your products and services. Done properly, this will mean totally free advertising for you on the internet and the great thing is that if your business caters to a local audience (such as a plumber, restaurant, driving instructor etc), then local SEO is not at all difficult.
   
    

   For the quickest way to get up and running with this highly effective, highly targeted type of local advertising I would recommend 'Local Business Search Engine Success' which is a set of 2 DVD's that show you step by step everything you need to do to get your website noticed. In just a few short weeks your site will be on the first page of Google for relevant local search terms ... and that's not adverts that you need to pay for but a totally free listing that brings customers to you day after day ... at no cost!

   Dragon's Den Star Rachel Elnaugh was so impressed with the DVD's that she made a short video to recommend them! You can see her video as well as more information on exactly how the DVD's will will help with your business, at http://www.localbusinesssearchenginesuccess.co.uk
   
   
   
2. My second recommendation would be to ensure that you have a properly optimised Google Places listing for your business. Have you ever done a search on Google and seen a map appear on the right hand side of the search results page with red pins in it that pinpoint businesses? Well, these are Google Places listings which are another superb form of free local advertising.
    
   Even if you don't have a website yet, a Google Places page will direct local people who are looking for your products and services straight to you!
    
   Setting up a Places page is easy and free. Just go to Google Places and follow the instructions there. Just in case you need any further help in creating the best listing possible and ensuring it appears in a prime position in the search results, I've created a 48 page guide called 'Google Places Success' that you get for free with the DVD's mentioned above.
    

I hope you find these two methods useful. Spending just a little time inplementing them really will help you to bring a regualar flow of new customers to your business at the same time as allowing you to reduce the money you spend on local advertising. What could be better than that?