Tomball businesses can boost their online visibility with these local digital marketing tips

Find out about SEO in your area

Search engines. We use them all the time but optimizing for local SEO can really help your business get noticed. The key is to find the right balance between the art and science of making sure people can find you when they look for businesses like yours in the area.

A very important step? Google Business Profile is the new name for Google My Business. Make sure you set it up or check it on a regular basis if you haven't already. All of your online platforms should have the same name address and phone number for your business. This tells search engines that you are real and makes it easy for customers to find your contact information (Google My Business Help).

You should also put keywords that are based on where you are all over your website. If you run a bakery you could use the words "Tomball bakery" or "cakes in Tomball." You should definitely use these words on your website such as in blog posts and service pages. But don't go too far the person reading your content should still be able to understand it.

Make the most of social media

If you use it right social media can be your best friend. You can meet people in your area on Facebook and Instagram. Making connections is just as important as making money.

Find Facebook groups in your area where people might be talking about events or asking for ideas. Being real is important but joining in on these talks can help your business in the community.

Post regularly on your business profiles to share news behind the scenes content or special deals. Live videos or stories can make things seem more real. People like to see the "real" sides of companies. It makes conversations feel more real and less like a cold customer service call.

You need to check that your site works well on phones and tablets.

More and more people are using their phones to look things up instead of their computers. You could lose a lot of customers if your website doesn't work well on mobile devices.

You want a website that is easy to use looks good and loads quickly. People may have trouble using your site if it takes a long time to load and it may also drop in search engine rankings. Make sure that links and buttons aren't too close together that images are smaller and that scripts that aren't needed are removed. Make it so that people who use mobile devices can browse easily.

Also think about the local part. When you search on a mobile device the results are based on where you are. Having a site that works well on mobile devices and uses local keywords can help you get more visitors.

Get involved in marketing content in your area

The most important thing is the content. It's something people say a lot but it's true. Also businesses in Tomball can connect with their customers better by making content that speaks to the community.

Write about things that happen in your area that you are involved in or support. Talk about projects in your community or tell stories about your team and how they are connected to Tomball. During holidays or local festivals make sure your content fits with these themes. It shows that you care about more than just making money.

You might want to think about hosting or going to events in your area. After that you could write a blog post share pictures and maybe even a video. You can put these on your website and social media to get people interested and show that you care about more than just making money.

Use online reviews and reputation management to your benefit

In the digital age people talk about things faster than ever before. Reviews can make or break your business so it's very important to handle them well.

If you have happy customers ask them to leave good reviews on Yelp Google or Facebook. It can't hurt to ask and getting more good reviews will help you show up higher in search results and make people more likely to trust you.

But not all of the reviews will be good. When you get bad reviews be polite and professional. Talk about the problem and if you can offer a solution or a way to make up. This can often turn an angry customer into a loyal one and it shows other people that you care about your customers and their problems.

Keeping an eye on and responding to reviews on a regular basis can help you keep a good online reputation. It also shows that you want to make things better for your customers (BrightLocal's Review Management Resources).

Finally going digital with your marketing isn't just about trying new things. It's about adding these projects to the ways you already connect with people in Tomball. You can get more exposure and build better relationships with local customers by optimizing your local SEO talking to your customers on social media making sure your website works on mobile devices writing content that people can relate to and keeping an eye on your online reputation.

It's not just about the plan it's also about the people. Your neighbors your community and the people who watch you.

If you do these things right they might take some time and patience but they could pay off big time. You can turn your business into more than just a service provider by carefully tailoring your content and campaigns. You can make it a key part of Tomball's local ecosystem.