Did you know about 46% of all Google searches are for local businesses? But even more remarkable is that about 80% of all local searches result in a successful conversion. This is because people nowadays have gotten into the habit of searching before taking action. Therefore, local SEO optimization has become absolutely necessary for brick-and-mortar businesses.
Local SEO helps make your business visible on the local search results page. Anyone who searches for keywords related to your business can see your website. This way, when users search for a relevant query within your geographic location, they will be able to see your website.
To learn more about local SEO optimization, keep reading the section below.
What is local SEO Optimization?
No matter how successful you are as a business, there is one thing you’ll have to struggle with – competitors constantly. It’s difficult for small businesses to survive in this highly competitive digital world. One small mistake, and you are already out of the race. This is why you should always bring your A-game to squash the competitors before they become a threat when it comes to local SEO. But what exactly is local SEO optimization?
Well, here is a simple explanation:
Local SEO includes optimizing your business website to make it appear on the Local SERP. Sound simple, right? But in reality, it’s not. Local SEO optimization improves your business’s online visibility by religiously following local SEO practices.
Keep reading the section below to properly understand how local SEO for small businesses works.
How does Local SEO optimization work?
To understand how local SEO works, you need to understand its intent. Local SEO, as you may already know, comes in very handy when you want to find products or services in your immediate geographic location. From this, you can guess that location is one of the main aspects of local SEO optimization.
Do you know how the search engine uses several factors to determine the ranking of your website? While these factors are critical, there are three primary factors that the local search algorithm uses to find results. These three factors are:
- Relevance: To check how relevant your business is to the search query.
- Distance: The distance between the user and your business.
- Prominence: To see how important your business is to the potential customer.
So when you optimize your business website with these three factors in mind, your business will automatically appear on the local SERPs. As a business solely relying on foot traffic, you must understand how important it is to attract a constant flow of customers. So imagine what would happen if your business cannot be seen on the local search results.
From this, you can understand how important local SEO optimization is. However, if there is even a speck of doubt, keep reading the following section.
Why is local SEO optimization so important?
With so many great marketing strategies, you may wonder if local SEO optimization is really worth it. At such a time, you must remember that Local SEO is a powerful marketing technique to help your business succeed. Moreover, with the right SEO services provider, you’ll see the full extent of how local SEO can help you.
Following is a list of the advantages of local SEO that will help you decide if it’s worth the effort or not:
Brings more customers to your doorstep
This one is very obvious; after all, the whole purpose of local SEO optimization is to enable users to find you. So, if you use this strategy right, you can easily attract users and convert them into paying customers.
Improves visibility on local search
The whole purpose of local search is to help people find businesses around them. So, by optimizing your website for local SEO, you’ll be making everyone’s job easy.
More control over your local reputation
Why do you think people search for a business online before purchasing? They do so to check your online reputation and determine your business’s reliability. Think of it yourself: between a business with a bad review and a good review, which one will you choose? The latter right. With local SEO optimization, you will have more control over your reputation and will be able to maintain a good image.
Local SEO optimization boosts sales
People only conduct local searches when they are ready to buy. So, by making your business more visible, you are increasing your chances of receiving such customers. When you get more customers, your business sales will also gradually increase.
Aside from these, there are many more advantages of local SEO optimization. With the right strategy, you will easily achieve all your business goals and gain an edge over your competitors. But remember, a good strategy is the key here. Therefore, the next section will provide useful tips for improving your local SEO campaign.
Useful tips you can use for local SEO optimization
For small businesses to properly leverage the power of the internet, they need a strong local SE O strategy. The better your presence, the more traffic you will attract. Therefore, here are some useful local SEO optimization tips you can use to improve your online presence.
Google My Business Listing
Claim and optimize your Google My Business listing with accurate and up-to-date information.
Post on Social Media
Use social media to your advantage by sharing your Google My Business page. You can even use social media to attract, engage, and convert more customers by providing valuable content.
Ensure NAP consistency
Ensure your business’s name, address, and phone number are consistent everywhere.
Optimize local directories and citations
A useful local SEO optimization tactic is to get your business listed on local online directories and citations like Yelp, Apple, etc.
Add location pages
Adding location pages to your website can also help the search engine locate your listing. This way, it can present users with the most useful and accurate results.
Review
Reviews are an important ranking factor that can easily make or break your business. Additionally, by securing more good reviews, you will be able to create a good impression on the minds of the visitors.
Publish local content
Many SEO services use the content in local SEO optimization campaigns. You can easily improve your website’s ranking and drive more traffic using valuable, relevant content.
Acquire backlinks
Backlinks, as you might already know, decide the authority and credibility of your website. The more backlinks you have, the higher your rank will be.
Improve your internal link structure
Adjusting your internal linking structure can improve your website navigation and thus boost your ranking.
Make sure the website is mobile-friendly
More people now rely on their phones to research than other digital channels. Therefore, to make sure these users are able to access your website, you need to make it more mobile-friendly.
Conclusion
Local SEO is the key to your business’s survival in this fiercely competitive digital world. For a small business to secure customers, they need to put in a lot of effort into marketing their business. But with local SEO optimization, you can save the cost of expensive marketing campaigns and still be successful. Therefore, if you have not started with local SEO, it’s high time to start now.
