Most local businesses would benefit from a combined marketing strategy. Advertising is an easy way to get your business in front of people—but it’s also costly. Clicks on your ads get expensive quickly, and you have no way to know if the people clicking on your ads are real customers or something else: competitors and solicitors who you just wasted ad money on. Local SEO, on the other hand, is more like building a great reputation in your community: it takes a bit of time, but the results are long-lasting. Ranking high organically ensures people will easily find your business time and time again, and through a well-managed reputation, they’ll know you’re trustworthy too—because your other customers are telling them so.   Reputation management and local SEO make it easier and cheaper for you to gain new customers in the long run. And your competitors can click on your listing all they want: it won’t cost you a dime.