Local SEO affects your business in ways you cannot even imagine. It will recommend your small business in Google’s search engine results pages (SERP) to potential local customers and actively work for your business when you are not working. Local SEO is a blessing for your small business.
Generally, what happens is that there is a store that has a physical location and it serves a particular geographic area or a handful of regular customers. But imagine the potential this small business could have if it shows up on the SERP every time a person searches for the product or services they provide. Crazy, right? But, this is achievable with the help of local SEO.
There is a 90 per cent chance that when someone looks for a product or service that your business provides, and if your local SEO is adequately performed, Google will show your business in its listings. A few examples of how people search locally could be Restaurants near me, the Best lawyer in the city, Doctors near me, etc.
If you want your business to make a place for itself in the SERPs, you need to get its local SEO performed adequately. Business owners need to understand its importance and not lose out on many potential customers.
What is Local SEO?
Simply put, local search engine optimisation means optimising your business online so that the local consumers searching for a product or service would find your business in Google listings. It increases the chances of your business being seen when someone searches for terms related to your business.
Getting local SEO done will be equivalent to your business getting more visibility and local traffic, thereby having more conversion rates.
It generally works best for those businesses that serve a particular geographic location.
If you think your business cannot do that great just because it is restricted to a specific geographical location, you need to think again! Local SEO will be a game changer for your small business as it increases visibility and is the best way to get more customers.
Google provides the best results for geographically related searches based on three criteria, which are – Relevance, Distance, and Prominence.
10 Reasons Why Local SEO is Important for Your Small Business
1. More traffic, more conversion rates.
If you get local SEO done for your small business, more people will find your business online, bringing you more traffic and increasing conversion rates. It is in this way that local SEO proves to be beneficial for your small business.
2. Get found by your potential customers.
You can only expect every potential customer of yours to reach your small business if it has a solid online presence. And the only way to have a robust online presence is by ensuring that you have local SEO done for your small business.
Let’s say a customer wants your products or services, but your online presence isn’t strong enough, or you haven’t got local SEO performed for your business. There are high chances of that potential customer missing out on your business and moving on to another company that shows up in Google’s listings.
3. Beat your competitors.
We are all aware of the competition online; this could also be a primary factor in getting local SEO done for your small business. There are a lot of businesses out there selling the same thing, just like your business, but if you want customers to buy from you, your small business needs to show up on Google SERP. There’s cut-throat competition out there, which is why your business needs to appear on Google listings.
4. Tap into the hidden potential of SEO.
Local SEO performed correctly has the potential to bring customers into your shop. Not many businesses know about local SEO’s potential and don’t get it done.
If you are a small business, you need to have your local SEO game strong; otherwise, it won’t take much for other businesses to make your small business look nonexistent. If your small business is SEO-optimised, it has a higher chance of bringing in more customers.
5. Better visibility of your small business.
A robust online presence will be a blessing for your small business. Showing up on Google SERP will result in more people knowing about your small business, creating more brand awareness about your product and services.
6. People want to support small businesses now more than ever.
People are much more woke about supporting small businesses nowadays, especially after the Covid breakout. They want to buy more from such businesses and help them expand their name in the market. This could help your business. This is the moment your business can take complete advantage of everyone who wants to support small businesses now more than ever.
7. It is within your budget.
Local SEO will fit the marketing budget of your small business very easily. There are other ways of advertising and marketing your small business, but they are a little expensive. Therefore, investing in local SEO is probably the best; it won’t get heavy on your pocket, either.
Investing in local SEO will give you long-term results, and it will be the best decision ever taken for your business.
8. Your business shows up on Google’s SERP.
When people search for something online, chances are that if they don’t find your small business on the first page, they won’t buy from you. They would instead go for another business that appeared on the first page and sold what they wanted. The business that shows up on the first page must have invested in local SEO and optimising their website so their potential customers could actually find them. And local SEO makes your business show on the first page possible too. Google My Business is the best way to do local SEO.
9. Show up in Google’s three-pack.
Google’s three-pack shows you the first three results when you search for a local business. It shows the top three results for that local business. If your small business shows up in this three-pack, it will get you a lot of customers.
Businesses displayed in three packs have a higher chance of grabbing the attention of potential customers.
10. Make a name for your business in the market.
Local SEO is also great for letting more people know about your small business. Once your business is on Google’s listings, it has a website and all information related to your small business, such as an address, contact number, and a few pictures of your shop. So what happens is that it makes people believe that your business is authentic, and everyone would want to buy more from genuine and trustworthy businesses.
11. Boosts Website Traffic:
By improving search engine rankings for localised searches, local SEO can drive more visitors to a business’ website. This could result in increased sales and revenue as well as additional opportunities for customer engagement and interaction.
12. Enhancing Customer Experience:
Local SEO strives to provide accurate and up-to-date information about a business, such as hours of operation, contact details, and customer reviews. By doing this, businesses can improve the customer experience by making it simpler for potential customers to locate essential details.
13. Enhance Online Reviews:
Local SEO can assist businesses in generating more online reviews from satisfied customers, which will enhance their reputation and attract new clients. Positive remarks also boost search engine rankings, increasing visibility.
14. Establishes trust and credibility:
By emphasising their local community and offering high-quality products or services, businesses can establish themselves as trustworthy and dependable sources for goods or services. Doing this helps build trust and credibility with potential customers, leading to repeat purchases.
15. Enhances mobile search results:
Local SEO is especially critical for mobile search, as more customers use their smartphones to look for businesses nearby. By optimising for local search, businesses can ensure they are visible to these potential clients who use mobile devices to conduct research.
16. Measureable Results:
Local SEO strategies can be tracked and measured, enabling businesses to assess the results of their efforts and adjust accordingly. By monitoring local search rankings and website traffic, businesses are able to make data-driven decisions that maximise efficiency in optimising their strategies for maximum impact.
17. Offers a High ROI:
Local SEO is a cost-effective marketing strategy that can provide an impressive return on investment by driving more traffic and sales to a business website. By focusing on local search, businesses can improve their visibility and reach more potential customers without spending a lot of money on advertising or other forms of promotion.
How can you use SEO differently for local businesses?
Local SEO focuses on optimizing a website for a specific geographic area. This means that the tactics used in traditional SEO must be modified to cater to local search algorithms. Here are some ways to use SEO differently for local businesses:
1. Claim and optimise your Google My Business profile:
This is the most critical step in local SEO. It allows your business to appear in Google’s Local Pack, which is the section of Google search results that displays local businesses.
2. Include location-specific keywords:
To rank for local searches, businesses should incorporate location-specific keywords throughout their website content. This includes their homepage, services pages, and blog posts.
3. Encourage online reviews:
Positive reviews on Google and other review websites can boost your local SEO. Encourage customers to leave reviews and respond to any negative reviews in a professional manner.
4. Build local citations:
Local citations are mentions of your business on other websites, including directories, social media, and news sites. These citations can improve your local SEO by increasing your business’s visibility and credibility.
5. Create location-specific content:
Creating content that is specific to your business’s location can also improve your local SEO. This could include blog posts about local events or news, as well as location-specific landing pages.
6. Use local schema markup:
Schema markup is a code added to a website that helps search engines understand its content. Local schema markup can provide additional information about a business’s location, such as its address, phone number, and hours of operation.
Overall, local SEO requires a different approach than traditional SEO. By implementing these tactics, businesses can improve their visibility in local search results and attract more local customers.
Conclusion
If you are a small business and still haven’t invested in local SEO, you are missing out on many potential customers. People will probably search for your small business online before setting foot in your shop.
We do it all the time. When we are looking for something, the first thing any of us does is look it up on the web, and often we go to the shops or businesses that Google recommends. But imagine the number of potential customers one could miss out on if they do not implement local SEO strategies.
But often, people don’t know how to kickstart their digital marketing. Finding the right team that understands your vision and business goals could be overwhelming, and that is when Expand My Business comes into the picture. With our vast pool of 1500+ partner agencies and end-to-end delivery management solutions, we connect you with the right agency for your local SEO requirements.
