How to implement an Inbound Marketing strategy at the local level ? 

This is a seemingly simple question that is, however, not so easy to answer.

If you are a company located in Montpellier, your customers probably reside in the Hérault, or even the region. However, search engines, such as Google, index pages at the global level. How, under these conditions, can you differentiate yourself through Inbound Marketing, i.e., by not using the usual paid search techniques?

To help you do this, La Super Agence offers four inbound marketing strategies to help you get known around Montpellier.

These techniques have been tested on a number of local issues and yield excellent results in terms of lead acquisition over time. 

1 - Optimize your local Google+ presence

Some people tend to ignore the social network created by Google in June 2011. Yet, this one is a real "booster" for your natural referencing.

Why ? Simply because 97 % of consumers use a search engine before making an online purchase, and Google is the clear number one. Now, unsurprisingly, the web giant makes it easier for Google Plus pages to appear in search results.

To create a Google + page for your business, nothing could be easier: go to the  Google + page for brands and follow the instructions. 

To do things right, make sure these three things :

1°) Make sure your contact information and geographic data are correct.

2°) Add an optimized photo and relevant description to your page

3°) Encourage your customers to leave a comment there

There are of course other local platforms to consider to increase your visibility locally, such as around Montpellier. But as a first step, especially think about setting up or optimizing your Google+ page.

 2 - Make your site mobile-friendly

 Montpellier is among the cities in France with the best 4G  coverage: The four major operators (Orange, SFR, Bouygues, and Free) have indeed deployed their broadband network in this city already two years ago. This is a testament to significant uses of mobile services in France's eighth largest city.

It is therefore important to make your site compatible with smartphones and tablets, even if this does not seem at first glance to be an Inbound Marketing strategy.

56% of consumers on mobile use their browser (e.g. Safari for the iPhone) for their shopping search and that a majority of them do so to search for local businesses.

If your site is not optimized for this type of search, then you risk losing a large inbound flow, to the benefit of your competitors, who will have done the necessary.

3 - Optimize your keywords for local searches

Since a series of changes in their algorithms, search engines no longer place the same importance on keywords as they did a few years ago. Nevertheless, terms relevant to a search are still valued, especially when they are specific, as a search with geographic elements can be.

For example, if you work in the automotive sector (garage owner, dealer, etc), you will have little chance of being referenced with the keyword "car". However, you can optimize your keywords to bring them closer to a location, such as La Pompignane, a neighborhood east of Montpellier. If you do the test, you'll find that the results do correspond to a localized query ; So you'll need to add a location-specific keyword to a general keyword.

To help you find the right keywords, you can use Adwords' planning tool, called  Keyword Planner.

To ensure that these keywords will be considered by search engines, consider including them in your text AND in your metadata.

4 - Make sure your essential information is easily accessible

You're there : You've done a good job creating content and investing in optimizing it. Yet it's not translating into tangible visits. Why?

Before you make any drastic changes, check one simple thing: Is your core information and offering easily accessible on your site?

A study conducted by BrightLocal found that consumers are ultimately fairly uninterested in your great photos or the cutting-edge design of your web pages. Instead, there are some things they are particularly looking for on local business pages. What kind of information are they looking for? Price, phone number, correct address and hours of operation. Quite simply.

So if you want more leads, make sure these elements are accessible within seconds on your site, including from mobile. Far too many sites hide them in sub-sections or after too much text.

On Montpellier, Radiology 34 , is a good example of a site that makes its information clearly visible, both in the mobile version (the phone number is clickable) and in the classic version.

These tips are the first steps to establishing yourself on the web as a local business. To gain a true identity, you'll need to implement a more comprehensive Inbound Marketing strategy.

To find out how an Inbound Marketing strategy can benefit your local business, in Montpelier or elsewhere, contact us.