Digital Marketing

How We’d Double Your Local Business Leads in 2025 with Digital Marketing

Ben Clementz | December 19, 2024

More of the same won’t get you better results in 2025. In fact, with platforms getting more competitive and expensive every year, the same investment of attention, time, and budget will get you FEWER leads next year than it did this year.

The hard truth is that businesses that fail to make digital marketing a reliable lead source will continue to fall behind more agile competitors.

The local businesses that will generate the majority of the leads in 2025 will be those who build a trusted brand on social, capture in-market buyers in search, and convert demand into dollars with a well-optimized website.

A high-converting website
A cohesive organic & paid search strategy
A brand-trust-building social strategy

These are the 3 components of the digital revenue engine.

When they work together, the system consistently generates traffic, leads, and clients.

When they don’t, you’ll stay stuck, chasing your tail doing random acts of marketing.

I’m going to take you through the 3 step process for building a revenue machine that prints cash every month.

And at the end, I’ll give you a bulletproof tactic you can use today to add 1-2 more leads this month.

Ready to make 2025 your most profitable year yet?

It starts with step 1…

Step 1: Optimize Your Website for Conversion

Your website should be your best salesperson. It works 24/7/365, educating prospects on how you can help them.

When your website is clear, compelling, and easy to navigate, sales conversations are easy. Leads come in ready to buy because they’re already bought it.

The problem is that…

Pretty Websites Waste Money

Not because people don’t like great design, they do. But a beautiful website with confusing messaging will turn away prospects every time. Design is the sauce, not the dish.

Before you get to design, first articulate the story you’re inviting prospects into. Where are they in the story?

When someone comes to your website, they evaluate everything they see with one essential question:

“What’s in it for me?”

Messaging Matters

In his book Building a Storybrand, Donald Miller uses the elements of the Hero’s Journey to show how great stories make great marketing.

“The key paradigm shift for most businesses is this: Your brand is not the hero of the story; your customer is the hero. When your brand stops playing the hero and starts playing the role of guide in your customer’s story, you’ll see dramatic results."

-Donald Miller (link)

This is the key: You’re not Frodo. It’s not your quest.

You’re Gandalf. The wise expert who has been there before and can show the way.

Your client is on a mission. They’ve been called to adventure and they’re off to slay a dragon. If you come along and tell them all about the amazing quest that you are on, they’ll say “Oh well that sounds like a lovely quest you have there, but I don't have the time. I have my own dragon to slay,” and away they go.

Instead, come alongside them and say “Hey! Off to slay the dragon are you? That’s great! I’ve helped loads of brave knights slay dragons. Stick with me, and I’ll make sure you get through the ordeal safely and return home to a hero's welcome.”

Now that is a guide that any good hero will listen to.

Be the Guide

When prospects visit your website, they want to find themselves in the story. “Do people like me hire companies like this?”

They want

to see case studies and transformation stories of people who had similar problems.
to feel you understand their problem; the specific pain points and what they have tried to solve it.
to see how you’ll solve their problem. What’s the process? How long will it take? How much will it cost?

The more you can predict and address prospects' questions, the more they will trust you. Talk to customers to develop a deep understanding of their problems, pain points, hopes, and fears, as they relate to your offering.

Then take those learnings, and bake them into the core messaging on your website. Show visitors that you understand them, that you’ve helped people like them; prove that you can help them too.

Choose One Call to Action

A confused mind always says no.

And your website is confusing.

Too many links, too many offers, too little clarity.

The most effective websites prioritize one(1) compelling call to action (CTA). What is the one thing you want your prospect to do? Some proven options:

Get Started on Your [Goal] (clear and reminds them why they’re here)
Book a Free Consultation (positions meeting with your team as valuable)
Request a Free Quote (high-intent action)

Choose a CTA that is enticing. Use action words and remind the visitor of the outcome you will help them achieve.

Place your CTA on a prominent button in your header navigation, like this:

See how Northgate Health Club puts their primary CTA in a big red button? This visual hierarchy shows visors what action they need to take to get started. “Join now” makes it feel like a club, it gives you the sense of becoming an insider.

Make Your Sign-Up Page Shine

You worked hard and possibly paid to get a prospect to your site. You put a big enticing button to get them to sign up. And then when they click the button, they’re greeted with a plain, boring form.

Give them a reason to complete the form! Make it irresistible, obvious. They would feel stupid not to share their contact info.

Because this part of your marketing engine sits at the bottom of the funnel, small improvements to the conversion rate on this page can result in significant and lasting growth in leads.

The best sign-up pages have 5 essential elements

Compelling, outcome-focused headline
Supporting visuals- pictures/videos of you / your business, charts, graphics, etc.
A simple form above the fold with as few fields as possible, ideally fewer than 5
Social proof elements- testimonials, case study stats, before/after photos
No distractions- no links back to other parts of the site, no unnecessary information. Keep it simple.

Step 2: Develop A Cohesive Organic & Paid Search Strategy

There are over 30 billion unique search queries typed into Google every month. And there are around 1000 keywords that are relevant to your business.

Meaning that 99.9999996% of all available search traffic will generate exactly $0 in revenue for your business.

The goal, then, is not to get ‘traffic’ to your site, but rather relevant traffic. Visitors who are willing and able to pay you at some point.

This is why a thoughtful search engine marketing strategy is essential to generating results. To maximize your chances of showing up in search when people are looking for services like yours.

SEO and Paid Search Need to Work Together

75% of searchers click on one of the top 3 organic results or the sponsored results. And 99% click something in the top 10.

If your site doesn’t show up on the search engine results page when your prospects are searching, you’re invisible.

Search is a zero-sum game.

Either you are prominent on the page and getting clicks.

Or you are not.

The key to winding up in one of those coveted positions is a cohesive SEO & paid search strategy.

The organic results get the majority of the clicks (85%). It’s important to make an effort to rank organically for the keywords that are specific to what you do and localized enough that you have a chance to rank. For example, “Physical therapist in (city)”.

But for many keywords, you have a 0% chance of ranking. Take for example, ‘back pain’.

The chances that you publish a page that Google places above the Mayo Clinic, the National Institute of Health, and the Cleveland Clinic for the query ‘back pain’ are less than my chances of winning the lottery.

But! If you geo-target your local area and a keyword like ‘back pain’, for 10 bucks per click you can show up on that first page when people in your city come to Google looking for solutions.

Just like these clever folks did!

Develop a dynamic SEM strategy that uses SEO to go after the local keywords you have a chance at. And use paid to capture traffic for terms you will never rank for.

It’s also a good idea to test paid queries related to your core services, such as “best physical therapist near me”. Even if you already show up in the top organic spots for this query, it won’t hurt you to hold an ad spot too. In this case, your info will take up half the search results page, making you seem like the obvious choice.

Local SEO Best Practices

Entire books could (and have) been written about SEO.

I have neither the space nor the will to rehash everything there is to know about this topic.

If you run marketing at your company, it’s probably worth spending a day or two learning SEO fundamentals. Check out the Semrush blog, HubSpot, and Niel Patel.

Instead, I’ll focus here on the top tactics I’ve used to push local businesses up to the top of search results pages.

Nail your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (formerly ‘Google My Business’) is key real estate. It shows up when people search for your brand name and when people click on your listing in Google Maps. It’s also a ranking factor that Google will use to determine what your business is and who you help, so they know what keywords to index you for.

Top GBP tips

Ask for positive reviews early and often, your star rating and positive written reviews as essential.
Set the primary category of your listing to your core offering
Add as many ‘services’ as are relevant to your business
Add photos and videos of your office and client before/after transformations
Write a clear description of your business: your core offering, who you help, what outcome you help them accomplish

One Focus Keyword = One Web Page

The days of gaining an SEO advantage by stuffing your keywords into every paragraph of every page are gone.

Both Google and users hate keyword stuffing. Don’t do it.

Instead, use your primary keyword thoughtfully throughout your site: home page header and meta description, on key pages, and in your Google Business Profile.

Identify additional focus keywords that you want to rank for. Terms your ideal customer would likely be searching when on a buyer’s journey to your solution.

For each focus keyword, build one (1) website page that holistically addresses its intent.

Go to Google and search for the keyword. Review the top search results. What do they include? What are they missing? Now go create something better. A page that comprehensively answers the question the searcher came looking for, addresses the search intent. A page that deserves to rank 1st because it is so damn helpful.

Acquire Valuable Links

Backlinks are and have always been a top ranking factor for the Google algorithm. Google thinks of backlinks as citations, it’s another business ‘voting’ that you’re credible enough for them to send their own visitors to.

When it comes to backlink building, quality is more important than quantity. Hundreds of irrelevant links won’t help your rankings and could hurt your positions, as Google punishes sites that try to game their system.

Your goal is to convince popular local websites to put a link on their site that directs to yours. This will help you get both more referral traffic to your site and an improved reputation with the search algorithm.

Ask For Those Reviews

The review system is the foundation of trust on the internet. Like it or not, both people and search algorithms like to see lots of positive reviews attached to your Google Business Profile.

Google prioritizes local businesses in search that have more positive reviews.

The secret trick to increasing your reviews is this:

Ask!

The best time to ask is the moment after you have helped your client achieve a positive outcome. You just relieved their pain or fixed their problem. They’re feelin’ good! Now’s the perfect time to ask for a positive review, I promise they’ll be more receptive.

The most impactful reviews, in terms of SEO, are specific and include details like

The problem they were having.
The experience they had with your team
Results or outcome of the service.
Name of the employee(s) they worked with.
Photos of the job.

Let your happy customers know how much a positive review means to you and your business, and they will gladly oblige.

Top review-generating tips

Place flyers around your office encouraging positive reviews with a QR code people can scan.
Send an automated email with a link directly to the review input page.
Offer to take their photo so they can attach it to the review.
Mail a small gift to past/current clients thanking them for their business and asking them to please leave a positive review.

Paid Search Best Practices

When used right and optimized over time, paid search ads can deliver a 3-4x return on ad spend. They literally print money.

But if you don’t set up your campaigns right or monitor performance, it’s way too easy to waste thousands of dollars without seeing any positive results.

More money gets wasted on Google every year than the GDP of a small country. Experts estimate as much as 25% of the $237 billion spent on Google ads each year is wasted.

The top budget wasters are:

Poor targeting: Broad and irrelevant keywords
Weak ad quality: Confusing or boring ad copy that doesn’t resonate with users.
Mismanaged bids: Overspending on keywords that never deliver leads or failing to use smart bidding strategies effectively.
Lack of negative keywords: Allowing irrelevant searches to trigger ads. (e.g., “free,” “jobs,” or “DIY”).

There are 3 factors that determine your degree of success with paid search and they are firmly within your control.

Targeting: determining who your ads are shown to and under what circumstances. Target people searching from within a minimum distance away from your shop, say 30 miles. Select only keywords that are directly related to your business and services. Use exact match and negative keywords to avoid irrelevant terms.
Ad copy: be clear and compelling. Focus on the outcome clients can achieve with you and provide a clear call to action, such as “Get a Free Consultation”.
Landing page quality: Make sure that the messaging on your landing page matches the keyword that the person searched and the search ad they clicked on. Make sure your landing page loads fast, has a simple form, and clearly articulates your unique value. Use trust signals like reviews, testimonials, certifications, or guarantees.

Step 3: Build a Trusted Local Brand on Social Media

Social media accounts for 38% of the world’s total daily online time, with users spending an average of 2.5 hours each day on social.

Regardless of how you feel about or use social media, it’s undeniable that people are spending more time on these apps every year.

Social media are an effective tool for local businesses who want to grow brand awareness, build trust with the local community, and attract new clients.

If you want this to be the year that you finally turn social media into a reliable lead gen machine, this is the way.

Get to Know Your Local Audience

Start by identifying your target persona—consider key factors like age, location, income, interests, and pain points. Social media analytics tools can provide valuable data. Armed with this information, you can craft content that speaks directly to your audience's needs and preferences.

Dive into the psychographics of your community—values, beliefs, and preferences that shape how they interact with businesses. What local causes, traditions, or trends resonate with your audience? Understanding these cultural nuances allows you to align your messaging with what matters most to them.

Analyze local buying habits: Do people in your area prefer to shop locally? Are there seasonal peaks for your services? By uncovering what your audience talks about, worries about, or values, you can position your business as a meaningful part of their community.

Optimize Your Social Media Profiles

Your profiles are the gateway from social media to your funnel. A well-optimized profile will tell your story at a glance: who you serve and what you help them achieve. It will also help guide potential clients to your contact info and website.

Start with consistent branding: use a professional logo, a cohesive color palette, and a brand voice that reflects your business's personality. This helps your brand stand out and be recognizable across all platforms, helping to build familiarity with your audience.

Make sure your profiles have clear and accurate information. Include your address, business hours, phone number, and email address. Make it easy for clients to get in touch!

Add clear CTAs that direct users to your website to drive engagement and conversions.

Pro Tip: Include a local hook, such as “Proudly serving [City Name]”. This small detail helps establish local relevance and makes it feel like your business is part of the community.

Social Content Strategy: Share Valuable, Localized Content

The local businesses who turn social into a consistent lead generator have one thing in common: They share valuable content, consistently.

It’s no accident. The algorithms determine which posts get seen by thousands and which remain invisible.

To their credit, it makes sense. The social platform’s job is to keep attention in the feed. If they want to keep people in the app, they need to show them the most engaging posts.

If you want to increase the chances that your posts are chosen, think of every post as a piece of media. Fortunately, “media” has been around for a long time, and smart people have developed helpful frameworks for determining what is “newsworthy”.

The News Values Framework

Originally developed by Galtung and Ruge in 1965, this framework identifies the key factors that determine how likely a story is to spread. It emphasizes creating content that resonates through proximity, timeliness, and impact by connecting with local audiences, tapping into trending topics, and solving problems. Other critical factors include novelty, visual appeal, and human interest to grab attention, while authority, shareability, and engagement potential build trust and foster interaction.

When you’re coming up with content ideas, consider how you can incorporate some of these elements. The more ‘newsworthy’ your content is, the greater reach it’ll get.

Creating Relevant Social Media Content: 5-Step Process

Building a trusted brand on social media requires more than just frequent posting. It’s about creating content that resonates and drives meaningful engagement. Here’s a five-step process to help you create content that grows your audience and drives leads.

1. Gather Relevant Topics

Understanding your audience is the foundation of effective content creation.

Make a Google doc to gather topic ideas and share it with your team. Research your ideal customer's interests, problems, goals, hopes, and pain points to uncover what matters most to them.

Use social media analytics or surveys to identify trending topics and priorities. Try to find the questions people are asking often or problems they are actively dealing with.

Ask your sales or customer success team members about the questions they hear most frequently from customers. Try to capture your customers' problems and goals, in their own words.

2. Develop Valuable Content

Once you’ve identified the key topics, create content that speaks directly to your audience’s needs. Use videos, images, and written posts to deliver insights and solutions. Use your subject matter expertise to share unique perspectives. Create content that helps your ideal customer overcome problems and achieve their goals. Content that addresses a real problem is more engaging and builds trust with your audience.

3. Add Visual Appeal

Visuals are critical for capturing attention in busy social feeds. Pair your message with compelling photos, graphics, carousels, or short videos that enhance your content’s impact. Thoughtfully designed visuals not only complement your message but also increase the likelihood of your audience engaging with and sharing your posts.

4. Encourage Engagement

Engagement is the key to building relationships with your audience and getting more impressions on your posts. Finish your post with a question for the audience or an invitation to comment.

Open-ended questions and asking people to share an opinion help foster real discussions, creating a stronger connection between you and your followers.

5. Iterate and Improve

Effective content strategies evolve. Regularly review your analytics to identify high-performing posts and pinpoint areas for improvement.

Experiment with different formats, topics, and posting schedules. Use these insights to make your new content a little better every week.

Pro Tips to Help You Get the Most Out of Social Media

Share Local Stories: Post tips, guides, or stories highlighting your local community. Share a local news article or event and add your perspective. Example: A physical therapist could share “5 Best Hiking Trails in [City] and How to Avoid Injuries.”
Engage with Your Audience: Respond to comments and messages promptly and thoughtfully. Seek out posts from people in your area and write comments to spark engagement. Join local groups and offer advice in discussions. Position yourself as a trusted local guide.
Encourage and Share User-Generated Content: Ask customers to tag your business in their posts or share photos of their experiences with your service. Share a screenshot of a client’s glowing review or even better, film a vertical video of you reading the review and thanking the client for leaving it.
Host Local Giveaways or Contests: Run fun contests to generate engagement. Give people a compelling reason to comment and share your post. Example: “Tag a friend who loves self-care for a chance to win a free massage for you and your friend!”
Collaborate with Local Influencers: Partner with micro-influencers or well-known community figures to extend your reach and credibility. Offer free services or cash to partner with them.
Show Behind-the-Scenes Moments: Share authentic glimpses into your business operations and team. Give your audience a feel for what it’s like to interact with you and your team.
Do Things Worth Sharing: Get involved in your community by sponsoring events or a youth sports team, participating in local activities, or volunteering. Share these moments on social media to show your commitment to your community.

Accelerate Growth with Thoughtful Paid Social

To take your social media strategy to the next level, combine organic with strategic paid social campaigns. Investing in paid social allows you to target your ideal customers precisely and drive faster results. Here are four proven tactics to accelerate growth:

Geotarget Your Audience: Focus your ads on specific zip codes or use radius targeting to ensure you’re reaching people in your service area.
Promote Events: Host an in-person event to share your expertise and use sponsored posts to drive registration from your ideal leads.
Boost High-Performing Posts: Identify topics or posts that performed well. Boost the proven post with paid, or create a new ad using the proven topic. This will make your ads reach more people with less budget.
Retarget Website Visitors and Social Engagers: Re-engage people who have visited your website or interacted with your social media, driving them back to your site to convert.

By thoughtfully integrating paid social strategies with your organic efforts, you can accelerate audience growth and conversions.

Bonus Tactic: Get Help from an Expert

No matter how smart you are or how good you are at your core business, you'll never know everything there is to know about acquiring new clients.

Your growth will be held back to the extent that you are unable to let experts help you win.

More of the same won’t cut it in 2025.

If you want to drive real, measurable growth this year, instead of spending another year just scraping by, it's time to build a digital revenue engine.

When the system works together, it doesn’t just generate leads—it creates consistent, predictable growth. Without it, you’ll stay stuck in a cycle of random acts of marketing.

If you’re ready to make 2025 your best year yet, let’s build your digital revenue engine together.

Book a free strategy call today, and I’ll walk you through the process of turning your website, search strategy, and social media into a system that consistently delivers traffic, leads, and customers. Plus, you'll walk away with a personalized tactic you can implement today to start driving more leads.

Your business’s best year starts here. Let’s make it happen!