Local businesses should be able to build visibility in their local area. It’s where they can best engage with a nearby customer base, after all. When you’re working locally, whether you have a shop, a home business, or a website, you’ve got the best chance for repeat custom right outside your front door.
However, in the modern digital world, the muddy waters of current customer behaviors and fast changing search engines make this visibility a lot more difficult to achieve. Because people are online, when it comes to finding a product or service they need, more than they are anywhere else.
But you can make a difference for your business here. When you want to find more local customers in the local area, there’s a few key things to keep in mind. Take the points we’ve listed below and use them to adapt your marketing campaigns.
They Google Your Product or Service
Naturally, Google is going to be the first place someone turns when they want to find out where they can shop within a 5 mile radius. And yes, even with the use of AI models like ChatGPT, people still turn to Google and other search engines as much as they always did.
As such, you’re going to want to focus on how well you’re ranking on search engines. If someone taps in a local search term that relates to your product or service, how visible are you?
There’s a couple of ways to boost your rankings in the long term:
Your Google Business Profile
If you’re not set up with one of these, that’s the first thing you’ll need to do. Without a Google Business Profile, your company won’t have any kind of official standing on the search engine.
You likely won’t pop up on Google Maps, you won’t be recommended in a local map pack, your number and address won’t be easily listed for anyone to find, and you won’t have one easy place to collect 5 star reviews.
Local SEO
Local SEO is a long game with steadily building results, but it’s one that you should invest in as a given. After all, you need local customers to be able to match your business name with keywords like ‘near me’ or ‘in X’ to even stand a chance of being found online.
You can create landing pages for each keyword or phrase like this, as well as routinely post content that answers questions locals may have. For example, the cost of a service like yours ‘in X’, where you can break down your own charges, national averages, and what factors pump the price up.
They Ask for Recommendations in Forums and Groups
The first place someone will go when they need to ask for a specific service in their area, such as a plumber or a gardener? Their local facebook group.
And the first place someone might go to ask for ideas on things to do in the area, as well as the best restaurant to check out for dinner? The local subreddit!
People love to get personal recommendations from those ‘in the know’. And when you’re a local business looking to get a bit more out of the local market around you, a few community mentions here and there will likely net you more custom than a radio, TV, or print ad could.
They Hear Something From a Friend
While we’re on the topic of personal recommendations, it’s important to note that a recommendation from an actual close friend or family member is worth double the recommendation of a stranger online.
However, it’s very hard to know when and where people may recommend you in this manner. That being said, you can still use this to your advantage as a local business.
Referral programs, for one, are great for getting people to mention you offline. But the real gold often comes in the form of UGC on social media.
If someone tags your business in a story post, where they thank you for the wonderful experience or share a picture of something available in your cafe, it acts as an implicit recommendation.
And the people most likely to see these kinds of posts are close friends and family members.
They Read Your Leaflet
Yes, even in 2026, it’s more than possible to make traditional marketing work for you. And when you have a leaflet with a list of your products and/or services, as well as their prices, you’ll likely source many calls and messages.
That’s why local businesses regularly benefit from leaflet or flyer ‘drops’ in and around the local area. You can set your offerings out as plainly as possible and then post it into a mailbox right outside someone’s front door.
You just need to be sure you’re dropping your materials in the right part of your local area. And to manage that, you’re going to need to do a bit of research.
How to do research for a leaflet drop
You can’t get people’s personal details, such as their name, age, and address. To do so would breach privacy laws up and down the country.
But when you’re conducting a leaflet drop in the local area, you can use both your own knowledge of the area, as well as general geographic data, to match up your customer demographic.
Let Your Local Customers Get to Know You
Local customers are usually the bread and butter for small businesses. Unless you’re an ecommerce-only store owner, focusing on interactions with those in your immediate area could build you the best possible customer base.
Build on your local SEO. Refine your Google Business Profile. Be active in forums and groups and try to build your mentions.
And don’t count out traditional marketing methods just yet. A leaflet drop in the right side of town could bring in heaps of new custom. Or it could bring in just one or two, but the word of mouth they might spread will work wonders.
Copyright © 2026 California Business Journal. All Rights Reserved.
For California Business Journal Disclaimers, go to /terms-conditions/.
