Any business with at least one brick-and-mortar location should be familiar with the terms “local SEO” and “SEO”. If not, it’s time you got caught up. Local SEO focuses on location-specific searches. So, a physical storefront or address is necessary for a business to pop up in the local search results.
While some local SEO optimization strategies and ranking factors are common for all kinds of organizations and businesses, some unique ones vary depending on the type of business. These tactics range from including business information on your site to claiming/adding your business in different online directories to claiming your listing on Google My Business.
Local SEO is critical for your business’ visibility in the search results. Find out more about local SEO and it’s importance below:
Get a Better Idea About Local SEO
Local SEO has nothing to do with taking out ads in local newspapers or dropping pamphlets in letterboxes, which may or may not be seen by the local residents interested in your service or product. No, local SEO helps your business reach the target consumers when they want and are ready to complete a purchase.
Local SEO indicates a group of strategies used by businesses to rank higher in local searches and reach their target audience. Several methods exist to ensure your business turns up in the correct local searches, and local SEO involves numerous techniques like local link building, citation building, review generation, and others.
Your business details, however, form the focal point of your local SEO, and the primary goal is to check whether your information is accurate throughout the web. Consistent and correct business details across all online platforms send the message to Google that your business is reliable and relevant to the search.
Although it sounds simple on paper, an ongoing strategy is necessary to maintain the effectiveness of your local SEO. Why? Because studies found that business owners who left their online details unattended started noticing changes being made almost regularly. To avoid this situation, the right information must be sent constantly to well-known local directories.
Who Stands to Benefit from Local SEO?
Local search engine optimization is a great, long-term solution for businesses both big and small. It’s especially geared towards business owners running operations with a meager ad budget. The truth is, potential clients find it more convenient to work with local companies whom they interact with on a personal level. Moreover, acquiring a product from a local business costs less than transporting the same item from a different state or country.
As long as it is not a niche item, most customers are happy picking up local products. If you’re looking for ideas to spread the word of your local business in nearby places or even your own locality, local SEO is a feasible option.
Why Do Businesses Need Local SEO?
Local SEO fits the bill for businesses attempting to promote their store or site in a specific city or region. With the help of effective strategies, local SEO targets consumers residing in your region. Implementing local SEO is one way to appear as one of the first search results before other businesses offering the same products and services.
Know Your Audience
Before implementing local SEO in your own blog or site, assess the kind of consumers who wish to attract as well as the target demographic you want to reach. Once you know the age group, gender, and various interests of your audience, finding keywords to target should prove simpler.
The more information you have about your potential customers, the higher your chances of developing an effective marketing campaign that will pique their interest.
Benefit From Timely and Targeted Searches
Users conduct local searches to find a product or service at a local store or discover a particular business. Local SEO provides the target audience with the information they want, when they want it, and where they need it, making the process both cost-effective and efficient.
Some users do not have a certain business in mind while executing their search for local products and services. Local SEO puts the business in a better position to promote their product and service offerings to local consumers when they are searching for that specific kind of business.
Consider It a Free Advertisement
Claiming your Google My Business listing, Yahoo Local, Bing Places for Business and other online directories costs no money. Although the process is a bit time-consuming, it helps you reach high converting, highly targeted in-market prospects.
Attain Higher Search Engine Rankings
If you’ve ever looked up a specific service or business in Google, you have seen the ‘local pack’ highlighting stores and businesses relevant to the search query entered. Local packs intend to offer users with more details about the top search results in the region, including prices, photos, reviews, etc.
Google, however, shortened the number of ‘local pack’ results since 2015 to three instead of seven. Although this modification benefited businesses with different stores worldwide and those who already secured a ranking in the first three spots of the ‘local pack’, it made local SEO a lot more relevant.
Nowadays, local SEO helps businesses find a place in Google’s ‘local pack’, which is a highly coveted spot in the search engine results.
A recent Search Engine Watch study found consumers using local search to interact with brands more than ever, and these interactions normally extend beyond simply dialing the business. Customers are booking online appointments, placing their orders, and posting reviews – both good and bad.
With local search growing rapidly, now is the perfect time for businesses to evaluate their local SEO tactics and gain the edge over bigger brands. And, if they require assistance with the process, they can always reach out to an experienced local SEO agency to get the job done quickly and efficiently on their behalf.