Importance of Local SEO for Small Businesses
While globalization has relatively transformed the marketplace, numerous businesses have started building their journey by selling to local customers. The yellow pages may have once been a business essential, but now online search engines have taken over. That is why local Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become one of the most important keys to business success, regardless of location or company scale.
According to BrightLocal’s local consumer survey, 78% of the Internet is consumed to discover information about local businesses in their area more than once a week – and 21% are exploring locally every day.
At Tussle Digital, we believe that a business must be visible in local organic and search results if they want to get found. Then only they have a chance to convert those searchers to in-store traffic, reserved appointments, or some other type of paying customer. Let us ask you some questions, do you think your business will show up at the accurate time when local consumers are looking? Will the users select you above all the other local businesses that provide the same goods and services? If not, then Local SEO will be a life rescuer for you.
Modern customers expect hyper-personalized online adventures. With local SEO, you can target campaigns to extremely small, localised groups of people. This will guarantee that your company takes benefit of lucrative local searches. Let us look closer at Local SEO first!
What is local SEO?
Local SEO is the strategy to make your company visible for geographically related searches. It is an adequate way to market your local business online. It permits businesses to promote their products and services to local customers at the same time they are looking for them online. Simply put, if you want a more local business, you need more local SEO services.
Fewer than 50% of businesses nowadays use local SEO services. What that means for you is a big possibility to get ahead and stand out in directories, local searches, maps, and social media.
Who needs Local SEO?
As a small company owner, local SEO is essential. It does not matter how inconsequential you think your business is. As long as you have a website, you can involve local SEO in your list and increase your revenue. If your business matches any of the conditions below, you require local SEO.
- If you have a local business or are you a small business owner.
- You have a business with distinct service areas.
- You are a franchisee or franchise owner.
- You want more leads, traffic, and sales within specifically designated market areas (DMAs).
- You want to shore up your listings across online directories.
- You want your business to show up on maps and navigation or in Google’s local pack.
Some key steps you can take to optimize your local SEO
Claim your Google Business Profile listing- The first and foremost step in local SEO optimization is to claim your Google Business Profile listing. Let us mention that your Google Business Profile listing is a section of information about your company that appears when somebody conducts an “in [city]” or “near me” search. It emerges at the top of the search results in a box known as the local SEO 3-pack.
Optimize for relevant keywords on your site- The next step in local SEO optimization for companies is optimizing for appropriate keywords. If you want to appear in affiliated search results, you need to incorporate relevant keywords on your page. This phase is important since your keywords activate results.
Make sure your page is mobile-friendly- To make your website local SEO-friendly, your site must perform prominent on mobile. At least 30% of all mobile searches are related to a location or finding local businesses. You must ensure that your page looks suitable on mobile, so people have a positive experience on your site.
Make sure your local listings are consistent- If you don’t have an exact listing across various channels, you may jeopardise getting your Google Business Profile listing. Google usually anticipates if your business’s name, address, and phone number are constant on their listing, as well as on other outlets like Yellow Pages, Yelp, and more, and it can impact your business.
Earn and respond to reviews- Reviews are also a critical component of local SEO. While reviews do not have a straight impact on your ranking, they do affect whether someone picks your local business or not. 80% of people say that online reviews have changed their minds about a purchase.
Benefits of Local SEO
Local searches are becoming important to Google and other search engines. Depending on the IP address of the user, search engines can also provide results relevant to a distinct locality. That is why local SEO for small businesses can do wonders.
You can narrow down Google’s search to a distinctive city or area by mentioning a specific location. Local SEO can provide various benefits for your business, such as boosting rankings. Further, local SEO is imperative to your business for the following reasons:
Reach More Customers
At its core, SEO is all about selling your business. As such, the biggest advantage of doing it specifically is discovering more customers. The main purpose of SEO is to improve your business ranking in the search results. This, in turn, brings in more visitors to your online business profile, who can be converted to customers.
Increase Traffic
SEO is mostly about getting more traffic or virtual footfall to your website. While all the traffic will not transform into sales, it is secure to say the more the merrier. More people visiting your site means the probability of selling your product also increases. Also, increased traffic spreads the word about your business organically.
Reach your Target Audience Better
Since SEO uses relevant keywords for marketing your business, it improves the odds of making a better reach to your target audience. This essentially implies that the individuals exploring a particular product or service will find your business and be directed to your website or online marketplace.
Improve Conversion Rates
Local SEO is key to improving conversion rates for small companies. This is primarily because SEO brings in applicable traffic that is already inquisitive about your product. As a result, the possibility for sales increases, thus acquiring a better conversion rate.
Bypass Your Competition
Think of 2 firms selling the same product in a certain locality. Nevertheless, one has an optimized local SEO existence while the other still depends on traditional marketing measures alone. Which one do you think consumers will flock to in this age of digital connectivity? Yes, you’re right, the first one!
Proper SEO measures allow your business to achieve a sustainable competitive edge that catapults your position way ahead of others in the domain.
Create General Brand Awareness
People searching for certain products with keywords will most probably find your business at the top of search engines. The more they see the outcomes, your brand awareness will grow. This means they are more likely to connect on your website or look specifically for you in the future.
Continuous Business Growth
Concerted local SEO actions are always directed towards bringing in more traffic while enhancing search engine rankings. This results in flourished sales and marketing leads. Better sales bring in more inquisitive customers, thus making a self-sustaining cycle of business growth.
So, if you are looking to grow your small business, funding your time and resources into local SEO efforts is a key win metric.
Let us look at some Statistics!
- 76% of customers “regularly” read online reviews when skimming for local businesses.
- Local and organic searches jointly make up 69% of general digital traffic.
- 98% of consumers used the Internet to find details about local businesses in 2022.
- 42% of local searches involve clicks on the Google Map Pack.
Is it essential to hire a local SEO company?
Yes, we can say so! Oftentimes, business owners feel that they can operate their businesses and the behind-the-scenes SEO processes that come with it. With time, they find out it is too much to take. Search engines revise their local search ranking elements all the time and they need to apprise themselves so that they don’t fall behind the competition. Balancing your SEO training along with running your business, day-to-day problems and family time is no mean feat. Why not leave it to the professionals? Our experts at Tussle Digital can help you claim, manage, and optimize your local search presence. Let us get started!