Want Local Success? Think Globally.
The internet is a funny thing. It's turned people singing in their underwear (Miley Cyrus) into world wide sensations. On a more serious note, it's allowed local "mom & pop" businesses to go global as well½ which comes back like a boomerang and adds up to hometown gains. New fans, new customers, new sales. Kelowna web design & marketing agency explains their new findings on how local companies can see big gains in their hometown by using the internet to reach the world.
"On the web, the whole concept of distance is strange," says James Shaw, partner of Twin Creek Media, a Kelowna web design and marketing company. In a year-to-date review of their clients' effectiveness in online marketing, distance plays a big factor--but not in the way one would expect.
Screenshot from a client's Google Analytics account showing that global popularity affects local success: blog posts, YouTube videos, social media updates found and shared internationally have a knock-on effect on local website traffic. "Distance is simultaneously important and totally irrelevant," Shaw continues. "One's physical proximity to a retail store or restaurant is very important to locals when deciding where to go.
From a digital marketing point of view, Google cares about local criteria as well. But our experience managing SEO (search engine optimization) campaigns for clients has shown that Google ranking, which is a major driver of business for many companies, is greatly affected by efforts to become known beyond the hometown bubble."