20 Local Online Marketing Strategies to Attract Foot Traffic (2025)

Local online marketing uses online channels to drive foot traffic to your retail store. Here are 20 of the best tactics to try.

It’s rare for shoppers to visit your retail store by chance. Over three-quarters of them have already looked at your online presence before they set foot in your store.

Shoppers consult reviews, browse eCommerce websites, and check product specifications so that when they arrive in-store, they have at least some idea of what they’d like to buy.

Local digital marketing helps you reach these touchpoints in the customer journey. Whether you pay to be there or maximize your chances of showing up organically, local marketing has the potential to drive a substantial amount of foot traffic to your store.

1. Create geo-targeted landing pages

Geo-targeted landing pages are specifically designed and optimized for visitors from a particular city, region, or neighborhood. These pages typically include location-specific content such as:

The store’s local address, phone number, and hours
Local promotions or events
Maps and directions
Customer reviews from that area
Keywords tied to that location (e.g., "bike store in Austin, TX")

If you operate multiple locations, develop separate pages for each area you serve (e.g., "/cityname/") to show localized content and capture area-specific search traffic. This makes it easier for online shoppers to find what they need quickly, such as their nearby store, opening hours, or pickup options, without wading through your entire site.

2. Optimize your website for local search terms

Around four in five US consumers search online for local businesses on a weekly basis. Almost a third search for them daily. Local search engine optimization (SEO) increases the chances of your site appearing in these local searches.

The fundamentals of local SEO include:

Using your city or neighborhood in a local landing page’s page titles, meta descriptions, and website content.
Displaying your NAP (name, address, phone number) on the local landing page.
Making your website mobile-friendly and reducing load times.

3. Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile

Some results pages for local searches have additional features that go beyond a list of landing pages. One of the most notable is the "Places" section, which pulls content from Google Business listings to display relevant stores on a map.

To appear here, create a new Google Business profile. If Google is already pulling data from your landing pages to produce a profile for you, request ownership of it.

Once you’ve done this:

Check that your store’s NAP is correct
Add current photos of your store
Update your store’s operating hours
Respond to questions or reviews
List the products and services you offer

Optimize your Google Business listing to appear in the "Places" feature.

4. Build local citations

Citations are any mention of your retail business online. Google uses them to contextualize your store and clarify that your NAP (name, address, and phone number) is consistent. This helps establish trust and authority, two ranking factors in many search engine algorithms.

The easiest way to build citations is to list your business on reputable directories, such as:

Yelp
Bing Places
Apple Maps
Better Business Bureau
Yellow Pages
Tripadvisor
Trustpilot

Keep your information consistent across all listings. If you change your store’s opening hours or move location, for example, it helps to have a list of the citations you’ve built so you can go back and edit them in one go.

5. Encourage customer reviews

Customer reviews are one of the most powerful types of digital marketing. They’ve been proven to increase user interaction by 144%, with 42% of consumers finding online reviews very helpful.

Asking customers to leave a review can feel daunting. Perhaps store associates forget to gather it during interactions in-store. Luckily, you can automate the process with apps like Grapevine and LoudHippo. Both integrate to request post-purchase feedback automatically, regardless of the sales channel used to complete the order.

Put glowing reviews to work by displaying them on your:

Social media
Email marketing campaigns
Online store, particularly the product and checkout pages
Retail signage, including window displays

6. Run local PPC campaigns

If you have lots of competition from other retailers selling similar products in a particular store, it can be difficult to appear in local search results organically.

Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns let you pay to advertise in these local SERPs. The biggest advantage is that you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, either through:

Google Search ads, which look like a standard text-based listing positioned above the organic results.
Google Shopping ads, where product images appear in a carousel at the top of the results page.

7. Advertise on Google Maps

Google Maps is the most-downloaded map app in the world. Users rely on it not just to get directions to nearby stores, but also to discover what’s happening around them.

Google Maps ads let retailers promote their stores in these local searches. If someone opens Google Maps to find a nearby flower store, for example, your local ad will appear both in the list of results and on the map itself. From here, people can view your listing to discover your store’s opening hours and get directions to head straight there.

Sponsored ads appear as red squares on Google Maps.

8. Collect customer data from social media

Browsers are setting cookie trackers; consumers are becoming more aware of the data that brands hold on them. First-party customer data is the most valuable asset you have, and social media is a great place to source it:

Use tools like Linkpop to divert followers towards your website.
Add UTM parameters to links shared on social media, so you can track match website activity with a particular marketing campaign.
Run a contest or giveaway with a mandatory requirement to share their email address through a registration form.

9. Tag your location in posts

People searching for things "near me" or browsing local hashtags are usually looking for places to visit soon. A geotagged social media post can catch them at just the right time.

Most social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, let you tag a location in your posts. Experiment with what you tag to see what gets the most traction. For example, a retail store based in the Chelsea district of NYC might tag these locations in their social media posts:

Chelsea District
New York City
New York (state)
Nearby attractions, such as the High Line Park or Chelsea Market

10. Partner with local influencers

Enlist the help of influencers—people with an engaged social media following of their own—to help spread the word about your store.

Influencer marketing statistics prove the value of these creator partnerships: 69% of consumers trust recommendations from their favorite creators over branded content. It’s why half of marketers currently lean on influencer marketing in their strategies.

To make influencer marketing work for your business, find local creators whose audience is within close proximity to your retail store. You could:

Search local hashtags on Instagram and TikTok, such as #NOLA for New Orleans
Run a customer survey that asks which local influencers they follow
Search for people who’re already posting about your store on social media

There are multiple options to collaborate with these local influencers. You could invite them to your store’s grand opening, gift them free products, or pay for a sponsored post to reach their audience.

11. Encourage user-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) describes any type of content—photos, videos, or reviews—that is created by consumers and features your brand or products.

Not only does UGC help your content look less biased (similar to influencer content), UGC fills up your content calendar without needing big photo shoots. You can repost tagged content, with permission or proper credit, to your own social media profiles to keep your feed fresh.

To source UGC for your digital marketing strategy:

Add a sign or sticker in-store to remind shoppers of your @handle and hashtag.
Offer a small discount or freebie for tagged posts.
Run a monthly competition, such as "Customer of the month," that requires people to post about your store on social media.

12. Send local email campaigns

Email marketing reaches local shoppers in a place not many brands get to infiltrate: their inbox.

Start building your email list by offering an incentive in exchange for a customer’s details. This can be a discount code to redeem on their first purchase, an exclusive product bundle, or a first dibs on a new release. You can also turn in-store shoppers into email subscribers with the email capture feature in POS.

Keep in touch with subscribers with regular email marketing campaigns that convince them to visit (or return to) your store. Here are some ideas:

Send automated cart abandonment emails that show the products a customer left in their online cart.
Highlight any seasonal promotions or events, like a flash sale on "back-to-school" products.
Share product announcements for upcoming releases.
Celebrate a customer’s birthday or anniversary with a personalized discount code.
Highlight customer reviews, stories, or case studies to show different use cases of your products.

Use segmentation features to divide customer profiles into groups depending on traits they share (such as people who’ve visited your store or live in a certain location). Then use Email to reach out to those customers with personalized retail campaigns.

13. Offer online-to-offline promotions

Discounts and promotions can convince people to buy, even if they didn’t have any intention of doing so. These need to be personalized to have maximum impact: 50% of consumers say personalized offers and promotions from brands they’ve interacted with improve their shopping experience.

Online-to-offline promotions are digital coupons or QR codes that can be redeemed wherever a customer shops. For example, you could drive foot traffic from online channels by:

Sending email subscribers a code to get 10% off their first in-store order.
Offering free local delivery for people within a 5-mile radius of your store.
Giving loyal customers VIP access to an in-store flash sale.

14. Send location-based push notifications

Window displays are designed to bring passersby into your store, but they require people to walk directly past your store’s entrance.

Location-based push notifications, however, use GPS or RFID technology to detect when someone is within a certain radius, known as a "fence." Geotargeting lets you send notifications to these shoppers and convince them to detour via your store.

Say, for example, that your store is located in Los Angeles. Tourists might visit from out of state to attend a Lakers game. You could send a notification to share walking directions from the stadium to your store, perhaps encouraging them to take advantage of your game day sale.

15. Offer buy online, pick up in-store

Some 38% of consumers buy items online and then collect them in-store. This strategy is called BOPIS: retailers allow shoppers to place orders through an eCommerce website, then arrange pickup in-store to mitigate extra shipping costs or delays.

For BOPIS orders, customers can view inventory levels at their nearby store, then place an order and arrange a pickup slot. Retail associates then consult their POS device to prepare upcoming collections for fuss-free pickup.

17. Implement an omnichannel loyalty program

Omnichannel loyalty programs reward customers for making repeat purchases. It’s a sustainable way to retain customers—it’s much cheaper to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones through local marketing.

18. Host local events

Sometimes, the allure of a new product or promotion isn’t enough to drive shoppers in-store. Modern consumers are looking for immersive experiences and are willing to spend more with brands that offer them.

An experiential retail strategy creates those memorable experiences and gives customers a reason to visit your store. That could be:

Hands-on workshops
"Meet the expert" events
Scavenger hunts
Live music or entertainment
Children’s activity days

19. Collaborate with other local business owners

Retail partnerships—where two or more local businesses collaborate on marketing, events, or promotions—are beneficial to everyone involved. Either retailer can lean on the other’s audience, while customers discover new brands with a recommendation from one they already love.

The secret to successful collaboration is to choose a partner whose audience overlaps with your own, but doesn’t directly compete with you. For example, a children’s clothing brand might partner with a local play gym instead of another apparel retailer in the city.

Together, both local businesses could run a local online marketing campaign that exposes either brand to their partner’s email list. They could even offer customers 10% off at the partner store for every purchase they make.

20. Pursue local press

Local journalists cover stories that the local community would be interested in. Pitch your story or new offerings to local newspapers, blogs, and radio stations to gain free publicity.

Find an angle that journalists want to share—whether that’s to educate, entertain, or inspire their audience. For example, instead of talking about the excitement of opening your new store, name-drop the creators who will attend, the free samples you’re giving out, or how you’re donating a percentage of profits on the day to local nonprofits.

Boost Your Business with Aliexpress Business

Looking to source products for your store? Aliexpress Business offers wholesale discounts, product sourcing, selection tools, and a vast catalog of items to help you find the right products for your customers. Whether you're looking for trending items or niche products, Aliexpress Business provides the resources you need to stock your store efficiently. Start exploring today!