Word of mouth is always going to be important for local businesses, but having an online presence is just as important for local and small business, even for businesses that don’t do e-commerce and here are three top reasons.
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Competitors
You want to be everywhere your competitors are and whether they are giant corporations or other local companies, they are online, so let’s get there.
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Local
While big retail corporations might have the advantage of large budgets to spend on complex digital marketing campaigns, small and local retail businesses can actually outshine the large corporations when it comes to search engine results because they are local and local search is extremely important because it is organic and authentic, and search engines want to provide users with the most reliable and relevant results.
Example
Type in “athletic wear” in Google Chrome on a smartphone. It’s likely that the first few results that appear in your search are paid sponsored listings, but below those first listings is a map generated by Google that includes all of the local businesses that sell or specialize in athletic wear and that makes it so easy for a customer to find a business. Think about it, for most people it is a lot easier for someone to go to a store, try on pants, and buy pants then try to find some online, hope the size they choose fits and then pay and wait for shipping?
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Credibility
Having some type of online presence also makes a business look more credible and reliable than a business that doesn’t exist on the internet. Without a website or even some type of social media profile, most users are less likely to reach out (or even find) a business that doesn’t have a website, even if it was recommended by a friend.