Meta Ads for Local Business: Drive Foot Traffic & Calls 2026

Local businesses face a unique advertising challenge: your customers are defined by geography, not just demographics or interests. Someone might be the perfect customer profile, but if they live 50 miles away, they're unlikely to visit your store or hire your services. Meta Ads offers powerful location-based targeting that lets you reach people within your service area, drive foot traffic to physical locations, and generate phone calls from ready-to-buy customers. When configured correctly, these campaigns deliver ROI that rivals or exceeds Google Local Search ads at a fraction of the cost per impression.

This guide covers everything local business owners need to know about Meta advertising in 2026. From setting up Store Traffic campaigns and radius targeting to optimizing call ads and measuring offline conversions, you'll learn strategies specifically designed for businesses that serve geographic communities. Whether you run a restaurant, retail store, medical practice, or home services company, these tactics will help you turn local Facebook and Instagram users into paying customers.

Understanding Local Awareness Objectives

Meta offers several campaign objectives suited for local businesses, each optimized for different outcomes. The right choice depends on your specific goals—driving store visits requires different optimization than generating phone calls or promoting a limited-time offer. Understanding these objectives helps you align your campaign structure with actual business outcomes rather than vanity metrics.

Store Traffic campaigns are designed specifically for businesses with multiple physical locations. Meta optimizes delivery to people most likely to visit your stores based on their location patterns and demonstrated behaviors. This objective uses store visits as its optimization event, meaning the algorithm learns over time which users actually show up at your locations and finds more people like them. However, Store Traffic campaigns require proper setup of locations in Business Manager and work best for chains with multiple storefronts.

For single-location businesses, Reach and Traffic objectives often outperform Store Traffic. Reach campaigns maximize exposure within your geographic target, ensuring your message reaches the broadest local audience at the lowest cost per impression. Traffic campaigns optimize for link clicks or landing page views, useful when you want to drive people to your website for more information, online ordering, or appointment booking. Both can be combined with call-to-action buttons to generate phone calls directly from the ad.

Campaign objectives for local businesses

Setting Up Radius Targeting

Location targeting is the foundation of local advertising success. Meta allows you to target users based on their relationship to specific geographic areas, from entire countries down to a one-mile radius around your business. For most local businesses, the sweet spot is a 5-15 mile radius, though optimal distance varies significantly based on population density, business type, and customer willingness to travel.

To set up radius targeting, navigate to the ad set level in Ads Manager and find the Locations section under Audience. You can drop a pin on the map at your exact business address or search for your location by name. Once placed, select your desired radius—Meta offers options from 1 mile up to 50 miles. The interface shows estimated reach for each radius, helping you balance coverage against audience size.

The location type setting deserves careful attention. "People living in or recently in this location" targets users whose home is within your radius or who were physically present recently. This works well for most local businesses targeting residents. "People living in this location" excludes visitors and travelers, ideal when you specifically want long-term locals. "People recently in this location" captures anyone who was there recently regardless of where they live—useful for tourist areas. "People traveling in this location" specifically targets visitors whose home is elsewhere.

Radius targeting best practices by business type

• Restaurants: 3-10 mile radius; tighter for casual dining, wider for fine dining destinations
• Retail stores: 5-15 mile radius depending on uniqueness of offerings and competition
• Home services: 15-30 mile radius based on service area; exclude areas you don't cover
• Medical/dental: 5-10 miles for general practice; 25+ miles for specialists
• Fitness/gyms: 5-8 miles; most people won't commute far for regular workouts
• Auto services: 10-20 miles; convenience matters but people will travel for specialized work

You can also target specific zip codes, cities, or designated market areas (DMAs) instead of radius targeting. This works well when your service area has irregular boundaries or when you want to include or exclude specific neighborhoods. Layer multiple locations to create complex targeting—include your core service area while excluding competitor-dominated zones or areas outside your delivery range.

Store Traffic Campaign Setup

Store Traffic campaigns require proper configuration of your business locations within Meta Business Manager before you can use them effectively. This setup enables Meta to track estimated store visits and optimize delivery toward users most likely to physically visit your locations. While the initial configuration takes effort, the payoff is powerful optimization for foot traffic.

Start by adding your business locations in Business Manager under Business Settings. Each location needs an accurate address, operating hours, and phone number. Meta uses this information to match user location data against your store coordinates. Inaccurate addresses lead to misattributed visits and unreliable optimization. Verify each location appears correctly on the map before proceeding.

When creating a Store Traffic campaign, you'll select which locations to include. Multi-location businesses can target all stores or specific regions. The algorithm then serves ads to users within proximity of your selected stores, optimizing for those most likely to visit based on their patterns. Meta considers factors like how often users visit similar businesses, their typical travel radius, and demonstrated shopping behaviors.

Store Traffic campaign checklist

• Verify locations: Ensure all addresses are accurate in Business Manager
• Set operating hours: Ads can be scheduled around your open hours
• Add store-specific details: Photos, descriptions, and contact information
• Connect Facebook Page: Locations should link to your business Page
• Enable location services: Ensure your Page shows your locations
• Set budget minimums: Each location needs sufficient budget to optimize

For single-location businesses, Store Traffic campaigns often aren't the best choice. The algorithm needs volume to optimize effectively, and a single store may not generate enough visits for reliable learning. Instead, use Reach campaigns with strong calls-to-action and measure foot traffic through other means like coupon redemptions, "how did you hear about us" surveys, or correlation analysis between ad spend and revenue.

Call Ads and Click-to-Call Optimization

For service businesses, phone calls often represent the highest-intent action a prospect can take. Someone willing to pick up the phone is far more committed than a website browser. Meta's call ads make it easy for users to call your business directly from the ad without visiting your website first. On mobile devices, tapping the call button initiates the phone call immediately, reducing friction and capturing intent at peak interest.

Call ads work particularly well for businesses where phone conversation is essential: home services that require quotes, professional services that need consultation, medical practices scheduling appointments, or restaurants taking reservations. These businesses benefit from direct customer contact rather than website visits that may not convert. Phone calls also allow for immediate qualification and booking, shortening the path from ad exposure to revenue.

To create call ads, select the Traffic or Leads objective and choose "Calls" as your conversion location. Enter your business phone number and verify it belongs to you. The call button appears prominently in your ad, and Meta tracks calls initiated through the ad (though call duration and quality are not tracked by default). Some advertisers use call tracking software that provides forwarding numbers to capture additional metrics.

Call ad optimization strategies

Phone calls from Meta ads typically cost $5-20 each depending on your market and competition. That might seem expensive compared to website clicks at $1-3, but calls convert to customers at 10-15x higher rates than web visitors. A $15 call that converts to a $500 service appointment delivers excellent ROI, whereas ten $1.50 clicks that produce no calls deliver zero revenue.

Creative Best Practices for Local Ads

Local ad creative should feel local. Generic stock photography of smiling people in unidentifiable locations fails to connect with community-oriented audiences. Instead, showcase your actual location, real team members, and recognizable local landmarks. This authenticity signals that you're a genuine part of the community rather than a faceless corporation targeting their area.

Include your location prominently in ad copy. Mention your neighborhood, street, or nearby landmarks that locals recognize. "Your Downtown Main Street Dentist" performs better than "Quality Dental Care" because it confirms you're accessible and conveniently located. Address the "where" question immediately so prospects know you're relevant to their geography.

Urgency and time-sensitivity work exceptionally well for local businesses. Unlike e-commerce where customers can bookmark and return later, local decisions are often immediate. "Open Now Until 9PM" captures someone currently planning their evening. "Saturday Appointment Available" motivates the prospect who's been putting off scheduling. Limited-time offers drive immediate action from local audiences who might otherwise delay.

Local creative elements that convert

• Real storefront photos: Show what customers will see when they arrive
• Team member images: Put faces to your business; people trust people
• Local landmarks: Reference nearby streets, shopping centers, or neighborhoods
• Customer testimonials: Local reviews mentioning your area build trust
• Maps and directions: Show how easy it is to reach you
• Operating hours: Confirm you're open when they need you
• Parking information: Remove friction by addressing common concerns

Video performs exceptionally well for local businesses. A 15-30 second tour of your location, introduction from the owner, or behind-the-scenes glimpse builds familiarity before the customer even arrives. Video also tends to earn lower CPMs on Meta, stretching your local budget further. For more on creating effective ad creative, see our Creative Best Practices guide.

Budget Recommendations for Local Businesses

Local businesses often operate with limited marketing budgets, making efficiency critical. The good news is that geographic targeting naturally restricts your audience size, meaning smaller budgets can achieve meaningful reach within your service area. A $500 monthly budget that would be insignificant nationally can dominate a local market of 50,000 people.

Meta's algorithm needs data to optimize, and that requires minimum spending thresholds. We recommend at least $10-20 per day to give the algorithm sufficient learning opportunities. Below this level, delivery becomes erratic and optimization struggles to find patterns. If your total budget is under $300/month, consider running campaigns in focused bursts rather than spreading thin continuously.

Budget allocation should reflect your customer journey. Service businesses with longer consideration cycles benefit from spreading budget across awareness and retargeting campaigns. Restaurants and retail with impulse purchasing can concentrate budget on direct response. Test different allocations and track which approach generates more actual customers, not just clicks or impressions.

Budget guidelines by business size

Seasonal budgeting makes sense for many local businesses. Restaurants might increase spend around holidays and special events. Home services companies could concentrate budget in spring and fall when homeowners tackle projects. Retail should align with shopping seasons. Plan your annual budget to weight spending toward your highest-opportunity periods.

Measuring Store Visits and Offline Conversions

The biggest challenge in local advertising is measurement. Unlike e-commerce where every sale happens online and can be tracked precisely, local business conversions mostly occur offline—in your store, on the phone, or at the customer's location. Meta provides several tools to bridge this measurement gap, though none are perfect. Understanding their limitations helps you interpret results accurately.

Store visits reporting estimates how many people visited your location after seeing or clicking your ad. Meta calculates this using location signals from mobile devices—primarily users who have location services enabled for Facebook or Instagram. When someone in this trackable population visits your store after ad exposure, Meta attributes the visit to your campaign and extrapolates to estimate total visits including non-trackable users.

This estimation methodology has inherent limitations. Not everyone has location services enabled, so Meta samples and extrapolates. Visits require minimum thresholds to report (typically 100+ estimated visits), so low-volume locations may not see data. Attribution windows can credit visits days after ad exposure, which may or may not represent true causation. Use store visits as a directional indicator rather than an exact count.

Offline conversion tracking options

• Store visits (Meta): Automatic estimation based on location signals
• Offline conversions upload: Upload transaction data with customer identifiers
• Coupon codes: Track ad-specific redemptions in your POS
• Survey attribution: Ask customers how they found you
• Call tracking: Use forwarding numbers to attribute phone conversions
• Correlation analysis: Compare ad spend to revenue over time

For more precise measurement, upload offline conversions to Meta. Export customer transactions from your POS or CRM including email addresses or phone numbers, then upload to Ads Manager. Meta matches these against users who saw your ads, providing actual conversion counts rather than estimates. This data also feeds back into optimization, helping Meta find more users likely to become customers.

Targeting Local Customers with Custom Audiences

Custom Audiences amplify local advertising effectiveness by targeting people who already know your business. Uploading your customer email list or phone numbers creates an audience of existing customers for retention marketing or exclusion from new customer acquisition campaigns. Website visitor audiences let you retarget people who browsed your site but haven't converted yet.

For local businesses, customer list audiences are particularly valuable because your customers are already geographically qualified. They've proven they're willing to travel to your location or within your service area. Targeting these audiences for repeat business—new menu items, seasonal services, loyalty rewards—delivers high ROI because you're reaching proven buyers rather than cold prospects.

Lookalike audiences find new people who resemble your existing customers. Upload your best customers—repeat purchasers, highest spenders, longest tenure—and Meta identifies similar users within your target geography. This combines the precision of customer-like targeting with the reach of prospecting. A 1-2% Lookalike within your radius targeting reaches new prospects predisposed to become good customers.

Local audience strategy framework

Layer targeting types for full-funnel coverage. Use broad radius targeting for top-of-funnel awareness, Lookalikes for efficient prospecting, engagement audiences for mid-funnel nurturing, and customer lists for retention. Exclude existing customers from prospecting campaigns to avoid wasting budget on people who've already converted.

Special Tactics for Different Local Business Types

While core principles apply universally, specific tactics vary by industry. Restaurants, home services, retail, and professional services each have unique customer journeys that influence optimal campaign structure and messaging. Tailoring your approach to your specific business type improves performance significantly.

Restaurant and food service

Restaurants benefit from time-based targeting aligned with meal periods. Run lunch promotions from 10am-1pm targeting office workers within 3 miles. Dinner campaigns perform best 3-7pm when people plan their evening. Late-night food targeting should focus on entertainment districts and areas with active nightlife. Weather triggers can boost performance—promote comfort food during cold snaps, outdoor dining when weather turns nice.

Home services

Home services companies should emphasize urgency and availability. "Same-day service available" captures emergency needs. Seasonal campaigns align with homeowner priorities—HVAC maintenance before extreme weather, landscaping in spring, winterization in fall. Before/after imagery demonstrates quality while testimonials build trust. Lead forms capture project details for better qualification before the sales call.

Retail stores

Retail benefits from event-driven campaigns around sales, new arrivals, and seasonal inventory. Showcase specific products rather than generic "visit our store" messaging. Use carousel ads to display multiple items and test which products drive the most traffic. Retarget website browsers with the specific products they viewed, creating personalized reminders that bring them into the store to purchase.

Professional services

Professional services—lawyers, accountants, consultants—require trust-building creative. Feature credentials, years in business, and local community involvement. Lead generation often outperforms pure awareness because these services involve research and consideration. Offer valuable content like guides or consultations to capture leads, then nurture through email before the sales conversation.

Common Mistakes Local Businesses Make

Local businesses new to Meta advertising often make predictable mistakes that waste budget and produce disappointing results. Recognizing these pitfalls helps you avoid them from the start, accelerating your path to profitable campaigns.

Targeting too broadly wastes money reaching people outside your service area. A plumber advertising to a 50-mile radius is paying to reach people they'll never serve. Be ruthlessly precise about your actual service boundaries. It's better to dominate a smaller area than spread thin across geography you can't profitably serve.

Ignoring mobile optimization costs conversions. Over 90% of local Meta ad impressions occur on mobile devices. If your website loads slowly, isn't mobile-friendly, or makes phone numbers unclickable, you're losing customers at the critical moment. Test your entire experience on a phone before launching campaigns.

Local advertising mistakes to avoid

• Radius too wide: Wasting money outside your service area
• Generic creative: Not showing your actual location and team
• No call option: Missing high-intent callers with web-only CTAs
• Poor mobile experience: Losing conversions to slow or unfriendly sites
• No offline tracking: Unable to measure true ROI
• Running 24/7: Wasting budget when you can't answer calls
• Ignoring reviews: Low ratings visible in ads hurt performance
• Set-and-forget: Not optimizing based on what's working

Failing to track offline conversions leaves you flying blind. Online metrics tell you about clicks and estimated visits, but revenue happens offline. Without connecting ad exposure to actual purchases, you can't know which campaigns truly perform. Implement at least basic tracking—coupon codes, survey questions, or correlation analysis—before scaling spend.

Integrating Meta Ads with Local SEO and Google

Meta Ads work best as part of an integrated local marketing strategy, not in isolation. Customers rarely convert from a single touchpoint. They might see your Facebook ad, Google your business name, read reviews, then finally call. Coordinating your Meta presence with Google Business Profile and local SEO creates reinforcing touchpoints that build familiarity and trust.

Ensure consistent information across platforms. Your business name, address, phone number, and hours should match exactly between Facebook, Instagram, Google, and your website. Inconsistency creates friction and raises doubts about legitimacy. Use the same photos and branding so customers recognize you regardless of where they encounter your business.

Consider how Meta and Google complement each other. Google captures demand—people actively searching for your services. Meta creates demand—showing your business to people who weren't searching but might become interested. Most local businesses benefit from presence on both platforms, with budget allocation based on which drives more profitable customers for your specific situation.

Getting Started: Your First Local Campaign

Ready to launch your first local Meta Ads campaign? Start simple with a Reach or Traffic campaign targeting your core service area. Use authentic creative featuring your actual location and team. Include a clear call-to-action with your phone number for immediate response. Set a modest daily budget of $15-20 and run for at least two weeks to gather meaningful data.

Monitor performance daily at first, looking at reach, frequency, and any conversion events you're tracking. Ask customers who call or visit how they heard about you. After two weeks, evaluate whether you're seeing incremental business that justifies the spend. If results are positive, gradually increase budget and test additional targeting or creative variations.

Local advertising is a long game. Building recognition in your community takes consistent presence over months, not a single viral campaign. Budget for ongoing investment, track everything you can, and optimize continuously. The businesses that succeed on Meta treat it as an essential marketing channel deserving ongoing attention and refinement.

Ready to drive more foot traffic and phone calls for your local business? Benly's AI-powered platform helps you optimize local campaigns by analyzing which creative and targeting combinations drive actual customers—not just clicks. Stop guessing and start growing your local customer base with data-driven advertising decisions.