Online businesses have to deal with a variety of challenges that brick and mortar companies may not face. From handling online criticisms to fielding customer service inquiries via digital platforms, many aspects of doing business are different when your audience is scattered across the world. However, there are many situations – particularly in the world of marketing – where the tactics remain all the same.

Getting the word out about your business is crucial for long-term success, especially if you operate with a local consumer market. In order to do that, your business must have all relevant information available on your website and available across every platform where targeted audiences congregate.

Let’s look at the most important details any local business operating online must publish for maximum results.

Name, Address and Phone Number

It should go without saying, but personal contact information is key to reaching as many local customers as possible. Customers who visit your website should be able to find this information on every page, whether it be in the header and/or footer. However, this isn’t the only reason that NAP information is essential.

Search engines and social media also scour the internet for detailed information about local businesses. By publishing this information in as many areas as possible, your chances of ranking for key searches related to your brand and its offerings increases dramatically. With more people than ever using mobile devices while on-the-go to find local business solutions and directions, having this information published in as many places as possible is crucial in pinging users.

Product and Service Selection

Not all local businesses choose to offer online sales – and for good reason. If your target audience is within close proximity, complicating business affairs by offering shipping and online payment may not be worth the effort. Some businesses do choose to offer a combination of online purchase and pickup, so there are many choices to consider.

Regardless of what you decide, providing customers with the ability to peruse your products via the internet is crucial. This not only gives your website vital content that can be used to target more search engine results, but it also helps customers decide what they want before they arrive – and in some cases, convinces them to shop with you as opposed to someone else.

Reviews and Testimonials

Last but not least, local businesses need to establish trustworthiness and authority when pinging users with pitches to purchase products and services. There are many online platforms dedicated to providing customers with the option to leave reviews, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t also feature this content on your own website.

A combination of personal reviews gathered by customers and links to review platforms where others have weighed in can give search engines a better indicator of your business’ popularity while also providing customers who browse these pages with more confidence to make a purchase.

There are many pieces of information local businesses want to feature on their websites, but some are non-negotiable. By ensuring that contact information, product selection and reviews are all prominently displayed and easy to find, the chances of converting potential shoppers into actual ones increases substantially.