Local marketing ideas for a small business

This guide is our view from helping local businesses with their websites and marketing. The time estimates are our rough guide, not measured figures. The US Small Business Administration's page on managing your business notes that a customer's experience can decide whether they become "a loyal customer for life or tell their friends to stay away", which is why several ideas below start with the customers you already have. We checked it on 13 November 2026.

Before you start: one way to measure

Add one question to every enquiry form and first phone call: How did you hear about us? Give a short list of options (Google, a friend, an event, a flyer, another business) plus Other. It costs nothing, and for local ideas such as word of mouth and events it is often the only measure you will get. Pair it with tagged links (see UTM tracking links) and, if many customers phone, call tracking.

1. Google Business Profile and reviews

For many local businesses this is where new customers first see you, in Google Search and Maps. Keep the categories, hours, service area and photos right, post updates now and then, and ask every customer for a review. Our guides cover the setup (Google Business Profile), posts and reviews, including the rules for asking, so we do not repeat them here.

• Time: a few hours to set up, then 15 to 30 minutes a week for replies and a post.
• Measure: calls, website clicks and direction requests in the profile's performance report, plus new reviews per month.

2. Local pages on your website

A page per real branch, or per area you truly serve, helps people and search engines see where you work. Each page needs something specific to that place: jobs done there, local photos, travel times, who to call. Thin copies with the town name swapped are what Google calls doorway pages. The details are in local SEO and service-area pages.

• Time: half a day per good page, then a check every few months.
• Measure: visits and enquiries landing on each page, and search queries naming the area in Search Console.

3. Partnerships with nearby businesses

Pick businesses that serve the same customers without competing: a florist and a wedding venue, a dog groomer and a pet shop, a plumber and a kitchen fitter. Ideas that work for small teams:

• Recommend each other when a customer needs something you do not do.
• Leave each other's cards or flyers at the counter.
• Run a joint offer or a joint event once a season.
• Write a short, honest piece about the other business on your site, if it helps your customers.

Agree in writing what each side does and for how long. If you pay each other for referrals, say so where it matters to customers.

• Time: a couple of conversations to start, then an hour a month to keep it alive.
• Measure: give each partner its own tagged link or offer code, and add the partner's name to your "How did you hear about us?" list.

4. Local events and sponsorships

A stall at a market or fair, a free talk or workshop, or sponsoring a youth team or a charity run puts your name in front of local people in person. Choose events your customers actually go to, and have one clear next step at the stand: a sign-up sheet, a booking card or a link to an offer page. Opening a new location? Our grand opening ideas guide has a planning timeline and event ideas.

• Time: a day or more per event, plus preparation. Sponsorship takes less time but costs money.
• Measure: sign-ups or bookings from the event, a tagged link or QR code on anything you hand out, and "How did you hear about us?" answers for the weeks after.

5. Word of mouth and referrals

In our experience, happy customers telling friends is the strongest local channel, and you can help it along without paying for praise:

• Do the job well and follow up afterwards, so there is something to talk about.
• Ask directly: If you know anyone who needs this, we would be glad to help them.
• Make it easy to pass you on: a card, a short link to your contact page, or a forwardable email.
• A simple referral thank-you (a discount on the next job) can work. Keep it for referrals that become customers, not for reviews.

Do not offer anything in return for reviews, and do not ask only happy customers. Google's rules on this are summed up in what you may and may not do when asking for reviews. To learn what customers say about you, a short customer feedback survey helps. To keep regulars coming back, see loyalty programs for a small business.

• Time: minutes per customer once it is a habit.
• Measure: the "a friend" answer in your enquiry question, and referral codes if you use a thank-you.

6. Local press

Local papers, news sites, radio and community newsletters cover real local news: an opening, a new service, a charity effort, a local milestone. A short email to the right reporter with the facts and a photo is often enough. How to write and send one is in our guide to a small business press release.

• Time: an hour or two per story.
• Measure: referral visits from the article in your analytics, and enquiries in the days after.

7. Print that points to a trackable link

Flyers, door hangers, vehicle signs, posters and leaflets in partner shops still reach people locally. The problem is knowing whether they worked; the SBA page names print advertising and word-of-mouth campaigns as tactics that are "hard to measure". Fix that by printing a short link or QR code that goes to a page made for that piece, with UTM tags on the link (see UTM tracking links). Use a different link per flyer or area, and a short offer code if people are likely to phone.

• Time: a day to design and print, plus delivery time.
• Measure: visits and enquiries from each tagged link, offer code uses, and cost per enquiry against the print bill.

Which ideas to start with

In our view, start with the Google Business Profile and asking for reviews, because they help every other idea: people who hear about you from a friend or a flyer often look you up first. Then add the enquiry question, and pick one or two of the rest that suit your time and customers. Give each a few months, check the numbers, and keep what brings enquiries. A marketing plan keeps this on one page, and marketing ROI shows how to compare what each idea returned.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest local marketing for a small business?

A complete Google Business Profile, asking every customer for a review, and asking for referrals. They cost time rather than money.

How do I measure word-of-mouth marketing?

Ask every new customer how they heard about you and count the "a friend" answers each month. Referral codes add a second check.

Can I give customers a discount for a Google review?

No. Google does not allow incentives for reviews. Thank customers for referrals that become customers instead, and ask everyone for an honest review.

Want help with local pages, your Google profile or tracking what works? See our services.