Every business needs to think about SEO to achieve online visibility, but some also need to consider the importance of local SEO. Local SEO allows businesses with a local presence to focus on the web traffic that matters most. Almost half of Google searches (46%) are performed with local intent, so there are plenty of people out there looking for businesses near them. Additionally, 97% of people learn more about local companies online than anywhere else. If you own a local business that isn’t already making use of local SEO, you should make sure you’re not missing out.
Local SEO should be part of your SEO strategy if your business has a local audience. Whether you have a brick-and-mortar location or you focus on providing goods or services within a certain geographical area, be sure to explore what local SEO can do for you.
Image from Pexels – CC0 License
Why Does Your Business Need SEO?
There are several important reasons your business should look at how to use local SEO effectively. Small businesses may often feel that it’s fruitless to spend time and money on SEO when they are competing against much larger businesses in search engine results. However, while it might be hard to get recognized when competing against a larger pool of businesses, local SEO narrows down and focuses your SEO efforts. Instead of competing for more general keywords and a wider audience, you can focus on a smaller target audience with less competition.
Local SEO can be much more effective than more general SEO. According to one statistic, 18% of local smartphone searches led to a purchase within the same day, whereas only 7% of non-local searches led to a sale. Promoting offline businesses can be tough in a digital world, but 78% of location-based mobile searches result in an offline sale, making local SEO a worthwhile investment.
Which Businesses Benefit from Local SEO?
Not all businesses will necessarily benefit from focusing on and investing in local SEO. For businesses that are entirely online and have more of a national or global presence, it may not make sense to spend money on local SEO practices. However, there are many businesses that can benefit from a local SEO strategy.
Naturally, any business with a strong offline or brick-and-mortar presence can benefit from local SEO. This includes businesses ranging from retail stores to restaurants and hotels, leisure and entertainment businesses, or service businesses with offices in certain areas. Businesses that provide services within a defined area can benefit from local SEO too. For example, a cleaning business or legal firm could achieve its goals through the use of local SEO.
There are many business types that can benefit from using local SEO strategies. Those providing products or services for people within a specific area, whether they are largely based offline or online, can reach their audience through the use of local SEO.
The Key Benefits of SEO
Local SEO has a range of excellent benefits that can help local businesses achieve their marketing and sales goals. Here are some of the key reasons your business should focus on local SEO.
Improve online visibility
Local SEO will help your brand to improve online visibility and get in front of the right audience. There are multiple local SEO activities that will help to grow your overall online visibility and reputation so that you can get more traffic to your website and improve brand recognition. Better online visibility can translate to more foot traffic for your business too, increasing the number of people who visit your location or make an appointment.
Image from Pexels – CC0 License
Get noticed in mobile searches
The growth of mobile searches means that it’s more important than ever to ensure you’re thinking about a mobile-friendly experience. 88% of searches for local businesses on a mobile device result in either a call or a visit to the business within 24 hours, so it’s worth your time to work on local SEO. Part of ensuring you are set up for local mobile searches should be ensuring your website has a responsive design that adjusts to different devices and browsers.
Reduce your competition
Trying to get SEO right can be tough when you’re competing against much bigger businesses. However, local SEO makes it easier to get your business noticed. You have much less competition if you’re competing against other local businesses. They can be a lot easier to compete against too because they’re likely to be other small and medium businesses, rather than national or international giants.
Appeal to local shoppers
The trend for shopping locally is growing for a number of reasons. More than half of consumers prefer to shop locally and support local businesses and the local community. Therefore, putting an emphasis on the local nature of your business and focusing on local SEO can be a huge benefit to your brand. Shopping locally can be more ethical and helps to support local economies and people too.
Grow your community presence
Local SEO can also help your business to be part of the local community. It’s a great way to connect with your target audience, other local businesses, and more people in the area. You can enhance the trust in your business and ensure both business owners and employees are recognizable faces in the local community.
Get more sales
Local SEO could ultimately help your business to get more sales than before.
Local searches result in purchases 28% of the time, according to one statistic, and can also drive more calls and visits for your business.
Local searches help people to find out more about your business and its products and services and can encourage them to visit you too.
There are many different benefits to focusing on local SEO for your business. With a number of different techniques you can use, it’s easy to get started with local SEO and capture the right audience. Finding the right local keywords is a good start to help any business build a local SEO strategy that will help them to achieve their goals.