Tuesday last week I get this text from my buddy who runs a sandwich shop downtown. “$1,800 on Facebook ads. Got four customers. I’m done with this digital nonsense.”
Four customers. That’s $450 per sandwich order. For that price, those better be gold-plated sandwiches delivered by angels.
But here’s the thing. He’s not stupid. He just fell into the same trap I see everywhere: treating online advertising like some mystical slot machine where you dump money in and customers magically appear. Spoiler alert: that’s not how any of this works.
What is Local Digital Advertising Anyway?
Let me break this down in human terms. Local digital advertising is putting your business in front of people who are physically near you and want what you’re selling.
Not everyone on planet Earth. Not your cousin in Florida. The guy down the street whose water heater just exploded at midnight.
I learned this the hard way when I first started. Spent a fortune advertising to “everyone interested in home improvement.” Turns out someone in Seattle doesn’t give a shit about my Chicago-based contracting service. Shocking, right?
The whole point is laser focus. You’re not Amazon. You don’t need global reach. You need the 47-year-old homeowner in Lincoln Park whose gutters are falling off.
Most people look up businesses online before they buy anything. I don’t have the exact percentage because honestly, does it matter? Everyone uses Google. Your grandma uses Google. If you’re not showing up when people search, you’re basically running a business in witness protection.
The Strategies That Work
Pay-Per-Click Advertising: Not as Scary as It Sounds
PPC is where you pay Google to put you at the top when someone searches for your stuff. You only pay when they click. Revolutionary concept, paying for actual interest instead of just… existing.
Here’s where everyone mess this up: they bid on stupid keywords. “Pizza” costs a fortune and brings you every stoned teenager in America. “Pizza delivery near Wilson High School after 10pm” costs pennies and brings you actual customers.
I use Google Keyword Planner, mostly because it’s free and it works. Found out “emergency plumber north side” gets way more searches than “plumber Chicago.” Guess which one costs less and converts better?
Google Local Services Ads are interesting if you’re in the trades. You pay per lead, not per click. So when Karen calls at 3am about her overflowing toilet, that’s when you pay. Not when she’s just browsing out of boredom.
Your Google Business Profile: The Thing You’re Probably Ignoring
Okay, real talk. Half of you reading this have a Google Business Profile that looks like abandoned property. Wrong hours, no photos, that one angry review from 2019 sitting there unanswered.
This is the box that pops up when people search for you. It’s free advertising space and you’re treating it like that junk drawer in your kitchen.
I helped my barber fix his profile last month. Added actual photos of haircuts he’d done, not those weird stock photos of models. Updated his hours because apparently he’d been closed Mondays for two years but Google still said he was open. Calls went up immediately. Not rocket science.
Want to show up in that coveted top 3 when people search? Start by having accurate information. Wild concept.
Social Media Ads
Facebook knows everything about everyone. It’s creepy but useful. You can target “divorced dads in zip code 60614 who like craft beer and own dogs.” I’m not making that up.
The problem is everyone targets too broad. “Women 25-65 interested in fitness” is not a target audience. That’s half the planet.
A gym I know started targeting “moms within 2 miles who follow Weight Watchers pages and have clicked on Peloton ads.” Specific? Yes. Effective? Their January membership sales tripled.
Instagram works great for visual businesses. That sandwich shop I mentioned? Started posting photos of actual sandwiches made that day, not fancy food photography. Tagged the location, used neighborhood hashtags. People started showing up asking for “that thing from Instagram.”
Email Marketing
Everyone thinks email is dead. Those people are idiots.
Build a list of actual customers who actually want to hear from you. Not purchased lists, not “sign up to win an iPad” schemes. Real people who like your stuff.
Mix useful content with promotions. My mechanic sends monthly emails about weird car noises and what they mean. Buried in there are service specials. People read them because they’re helpful, not just “SALE SALE SALE.”
Retargeting
You know when you look at shoes online and then those exact shoes follow you around the internet for weeks? That’s retargeting. It’s annoying when done wrong, effective when done right.
People rarely buy the first time they see you. They need reminders. But there’s a fine line between “gentle reminder” and “stalker behavior.” I cap my retargeting at 14 days because after that, they’ve either forgotten or they’re not interested.
The Foundation Stuff You Can’t Skip
Content That Doesn’t Make People Want to Punch Their Screen
Your website needs to work the way your customers need it to work. If it looks like it was designed by your nephew in 2003, people will leave.
Answer the questions people ask. My plumber friend has a page called “Why Your Toilet Sounds Like a Dying Whale” that gets more traffic than his homepage. Because that’s what people actually Google at 2am.
SEO: Playing the Long Game
SEO takes forever but it’s worth it. Make your site fast, make it work on phones, put your phone number where people can find it.
Then write about what you know. Not “10 Tips for Whatever.” Real stuff. The dentist who wrote about why everyone’s teeth hurt after the city changed the water treatment. That post still brings him patients three years later.
Track Everything or You’re Just Guessing
Digital advertising gives you data on everything. Use it. I discovered one client was getting tons of clicks from mobile but zero calls. Turns out his phone number was broken on mobile. Fixed it, calls exploded.
Google Analytics is free. Call tracking costs like $30/month. If you’re spending hundreds on ads but won’t spend $30 to see if they work, I can’t help you.
Stop Making These Expensive Mistakes
Biggest mistake? Trying to be everywhere. You’re not Coca-Cola. Pick one platform, get good at it, then maybe add another.
My sandwich shop friend? We killed Facebook, focused on Google Business Profile and search ads for “lunch delivery downtown.” He’s averaging 15-20 online orders per day now. From four customers to steady business.
Another huge mistake: not answering your phone. I see businesses spending thousands on ads to make the phone ring, then they let it go to voicemail. What’s the point?
Your Next Steps
Fix your Google Business Profile today. Not tomorrow. Today. It’s free and it’s the lowest hanging fruit in digital marketing.
Pick ONE paid advertising channel. If people call you for emergencies, Google Ads. If you’re visual (food, fitness, fashion), try Instagram. Start with $10/day and see what happens.
Stop trying to go viral. You need customers, not likes from strangers in other states.
Local online advertising works when you stop treating it like magic and start treating it like what it is: a tool to connect with people nearby who need what you sell. That’s it. No mystical formulas, no growth hacks, just putting your business in front of the right people at the right time.
Want to know if your ads are working? Look at your bank account, not your analytics dashboard. Real businesses measure success in dollars, not clicks.