Local SEO matters because it’s not the same as SEO in general
Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of improving the search engine visibility of local businesses. It concerns mainly those with brick-and-mortar stores serving specific cities, towns, regions, or states. In today’s times, when most of the searches happen online, local SEO matters. No local business can ignore local SEO and expect their business to thrive.
What exactly is local SEO?
Local SEO is about improving your visibility and rankings in local search results. It involves helping your business listing in the Google Local/Map rank higher and appear more frequently in response to relevant search queries. According to Forbes research, 30% to 40% of customers, on average, find local companies through maps.
Local SEO uses keywords and links to optimize the Google Business profile. It involves strategies such as updating the NAP (name, address, phone number) of your business, link-building, geo-tagging of images, and more.
Why do small businesses need local SEO?
Increased customer reach
The biggest benefit of local SEO is that it helps you find more customers. 46% of Google searches are for local businesses. The goal of local SEO is to improve your rankings in the search results. This helps bring in more visitors to your Google Business profile.
Helps local customers find your business
No matter how good your product or service offering is, you can’t sell it if people don’t know about it. Local SEO shows prospects who, what and where you. It helps local customers find your business. It has been shown that 72% of customers who search for a local business visit a store within five miles. So, it is important to ensure that your business is found in local search results. If your business figures in the local search results, there is a higher chance of capturing targeted leads for your small business.
Higher conversion rates
Local SEO is known to provide better conversion rates by driving targeted traffic to the business profile. Study shows that 80% of local searches result in conversions. This is because the likelihood of conversion is higher for users who are searching for localized content. When someone is searching for a local business such as a restaurant, they are often in the area where the business is located. So there is a higher likelihood of them contacting or visiting the business. In other words, local SEO puts your small business in front of people who are ready to buy.
Cost-effective
Local SEO is a cost-effective marketing solution for small businesses and has a high ROI. It does require time and effort to manage your business listings across different online directories. You have to keep information online fresh on the major directories (Google Business Places, Yelp, Bing, Apple Maps, etc. But there are no direct costs involved. Even if you choose to outsource your local SEO marketing to a professional, you can rest assured that the returns far exceed the costs.
Builds trust
Small businesses often struggle with building reliability and trust. Local SEO is a great way to build trust. High-ranking businesses are often considered more reliable by customers than those that don’t figure on the top of search engine results pages. By gaining a prominent place on the search engine results page, you inspire confidence in your customers. It also establishes your authority and helps you outshine your competition.
A small business owner has to wear many hats. However, there are things that you can easily outsource to professionals and save your time and effort for your core business activities. Local SEO is one such thing. If you want your small business to rank well on Google, get in touch with our team now.