Recently we were invited to speak on multiple panels and workshops at ESX in Baltimore. The topics included taking a new RMR idea from conception to the end. Specifically, our role on the panel was to discuss how to grow your security company with marketing that actually works. During our sessions a question was brought up repeatedly and for great reason: How effective is local search?

As a full-service marketing agency it is our responsibility to know what trends and technology are current, but more importantly to know how they affect the security industry. Local search has been a booming topic within the last four to five months, but what does this mean? How does it affect your business if you’re a residential security dealer, commercial security dealer or security integrator? Listen up, because we’re about to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Last month alone, millions of searches were queried in Google for businesses “near me,” meaning each time a Web user typed in a restaurant or business they added “near me” to their search. Even though the number of searches for actual security companies still is low currently, we like to be proactive and stay ahead of the curve; so, for our clients we are implementing SEO and PPC derived keywords with “near me” in our efforts to make sure our clients are being pulled up during these searches. Start making efforts now for these search terms and as this trend of putting “near me” becomes more popular you’ll be ahead of the competition and start to generate results.

Another reason we feel this is exciting for the security industry is because a question we get asked constantly by potential customers is, “How can I compete against the big dogs?” Or we get asked to help them define their unique selling proposition (USP) to separate them from the competition. Now, the demand of searching for services or companies that are local gives you an advantage over the 800-pound gorillas in the industry.

Consumers are demanding to work with local companies rather than national enterprises they believe will treat them like a number or general customer; use this to your advantage. Within our own client base we have found that by creating your Web content (text and images) to be geared toward your local audience, you’ll increase the amount of time prospects stay on your website and generate more leads. How can you do this? First, create multiple geo-landing pages geared toward each city within your service area — for example, Los Angeles Home Security Company. Then, in your headline, make sure you cite the city you are targeting by writing something such as “Looking for a Home Security Company in Los Angeles?” Also, use a header image that shows some type of landmark within that city; in the case of Los Angeles, we might use an image of the downtown area. When you’re creating your Web content make sure to use the city keyword throughout your paragraphs, letting the Web user know they came to the right local security company after their local search within the search engine.

If you can get testimonials, sprinkle them throughout your pages, including the city each testimonial came from.  Local searches demand a local company, and this is a huge advantage over the big guys.

More and more, online users are demanding to find what they are looking for instantly and locally. Think of the last time you were looking for some commodity item online and saw local stores that came up in your results such as Target or a restaurant. Would you have chosen any of these stores to purchase and pick up your item if they weren’t local companies?

 The same can be said for potential customers seeking security needs for their home or business. We say, bring back the good ole days of old-fashioned security where your business was appreciated and you matter as a client.