Local SEO: Why Does It Matter For Your Business

Increasing foot traffic and bringing more customers to your business is the goal of any local business. But competing with larger companies or even other local businesses might be challenging. Fortunately, Local SEO services provide an opportunity to level the playing field, giving local businesses a chance to get ahead.  

Local SEO is one of the most influential strategies for driving user decision-making, according to local SEO strategy 2019. It means that an effective Local SEO campaign can be highly beneficial for local businesses. This blog post will outline why Local SEO is important and how it can give your business a competitive edge.

Why Local SEO Matters For Your Business  

As local businesses compete with larger organizations and international companies, Local SEO is becoming increasingly important. Local search engine optimization (SEO) helps local businesses attract more attention and gain more visibility in the local market.  

It is evident that nowadays, people rely more on finding almost everything online. Hence, it makes sense for the 97% of users who go online to look for a local business. Then follow the 28% resulting in purchasing. 

  

The 10 Benefits Of Local SEO 

Here are ten benefits of Local SEO that will benefit your business: 

 1. Better Online Visibility

Local SEO helps to increase your business’s visibility online. It may help you rank better on search engine results pages, meaning that more audience will be able to find your website. It also helps improve the overall user experience of people looking for your business. 

 2. More In-store Foot Traffic 

More significant foot traffic leads to higher revenue with whatever your business is. Increasing the number of people stopping by can help you build a buzz about your place and earn more sales and a better in-person experience.   

 3. Tap Into the Local Shopping Boom   

One good thing about local SEO is that it places you in front of local consumers right when they exactly need your products or services. As a result, you can ultimately capitalize on this shift in buyer behavior to develop your business.  

 4. Targeted Web Traffic

Local SEO helps to bring in targeted web traffic. It allows you to target a specific location, which can ensure that the people visiting your website are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.

 5. More Calls and Visits from Maps Users

Optimizing your Google Business Profile is one way to attract good leads and increased visibility on Google Maps. Today, Google Maps was deliberately created to assist users in identifying local services and planning their routes. And this can contribute to more calls and in-person visits. 

 6. Establish a Position of Thought Leadership

Local SEO can help you establish a position of thought leadership in your local area. You must ensure that you create and share helpful, relevant content that recognizes your expertise in the industry. Additionally, you should also strive to include local terms and phrases in your content. 

  7. Enhanced Trust Levels 

Reviews and testimonials are critical components in establishing consumer trust, which is a prerequisite for any business transaction. According to research, more people than ever before are reading online reviews regularly.

 8. More Sales

Consumers utilize online reviews to aid in their decision-making process. Being able to present them with genuine recommendations from their peers for your business is a great benefit that emphasizes the importance of local SEO.   

 9. Improved Conversion Rates

Local SEO operations such as introducing new local optimization, revising landing page language, and focusing on page load speed all aid in conversion rate optimization (CRO). Following that, you should observe more conversions your sites generate, such as more contact form submissions, phone calls, email subscriptions, or sales.

 10. Your Business Becomes More Competitive

Benchmarking competitors and analyzing what they do better than you are crucial to establishing and refining your local SEO strategy. Identifying these areas and working them to your advantage.  

Local SEO And Covid 19  

The arrival of the pandemic has created an unpredictable landscape for local businesses, posing unexpected obstacles. Many stores have been forced to close or drastically reduce their hours, while those that remained open had to take extraordinary measures to promote social distancing. It has caused a significant impact on local SEO efforts, as many businesses have had to rethink their strategies to remain competitive.  

How Local SEO Works  

In addition to Google’s standard ranking factors, its local search algorithm considers three additional parameters to locate the best match potentially:   

• Relevance:  Is your business the most relevant to a user’s query? 
• Proximity: Is your business located close enough to the user to be practical? 
• Prominence: How prominent is your business in its local area? 
• Distance: Is your business within a certain travel distance from the user’s current location? 

Then, for local searches, Google presents two types of search results. Organic and “local pack” results to Google Maps and Business Profiles. Organic results are the “standard” blue link search results that we’ve all come to expect from Google.  

A local pack (or map pack) is a Google feature that displays the most popular local business listings and a map. By adequately optimizing for each of these parameters, you can boost your business visibility in local search results, ultimately leading to more customers.  

Google’s Local Search Algorithm 

Google uses various techniques to rank hundreds or thousands of websites in the blink of an eye. These procedures are referred to as algorithms. When you Google something, an algorithm searches the index and produces a list of pages that match your search in organic results. 
Those results are chosen and ordered depending on the relevance, significance, and popularity provided by inbound links. The algorithm considers different on-site and off-site elements to identify which websites offer content relevant to your search. All relevant sites are added to the list, which is then ordered by prominence.  

Using the different on-site and off-site parameters, the algorithm evaluates which sites best answer your search query, and those sites appear at the top of the SERP. Google utilizes a separate ranking algorithm for local SEO that considers various elements to achieve the best results.  

Local SEO Best Practices For Winning Local Rankings  

To become a local SEO success, here are the 14 best ways to get your venture up and running. 

1. Create a Google My Business Account   

Your Google My Business account is a primary tool to help increase your visibility in local searches. It’s free and easy to set up, allowing you to list your business in Google’s local search results. 

2. Perform a Local SEO Audit   

Now, it’s time to understand the As you begin your audit, consider using free tools and analyzers such as the SEO Analyzer. These tools provide a comprehensive overview of your website’s present state and what you can do to improve it. 

  

3. Get Regular Reviews from Happy Customers   

Getting your clients to post positive reviews for your business improves your Google My Business visibility and encourages additional local people to buy from you.  

4. Optimize for Voice Search   

Optimizing for voice search when it comes to local SEO is crucial. Most voice searches are location-based, with the user looking for directions or a business in their area.  

5. Make Content Based on Local News or Events   

By creating content related to local events or news topics, you can establish yourself as a local authority and show your potential customers that you are in tune with the area. Moreover, it gives you a chance to gain backlinks from local news websites, which can help you increase your visibility in search engine results.

6. Get Involved in Social Media

By utilizing social media outlets, such as Twitter and Instagram, you can broaden your reach to more potential customers. Posting content that is relevant to your industry and local events, as well as responding to customers’ comments, are just some of the ways you can connect with potential customers.  

7. Optimize Your Website for Mobile  

Mobile vs. desktop trends shows that mobile dominates the scene faster than expected. Mobile visits to websites increased in numbers from the previous year. 

Here’s a quick video tutorial on how to optimize your website for mobile devices.

8. Optimize Page Structure

Title tags, headers, meta descriptions, and URLs are examples of page structure. When applied effectively, these can increase your SERP ranks and significantly enhance your content.

   

9. Hone in on Local Keywords

Google’s Keyword Planner filters keyword searches by area to get an overview of the most popular search phrases in a specific region. You can use this to get a list of local keywords. 

10. Use location pages or an “About Us” page.

Location pages are required if your business has many locations in a particular area. These pages must include the business profile, including the essential information.  

11. Take Advantage of Online Business Directories

Getting your business name, address, and phone number into online business directories will assist in exposure and boost your local SEO.

   

12. Focus on Link Signals (Get High-Quality Backlinks)

The first and second most essential factors for local pack results and localized organic outcomes are link signals. Backlinks leading to your site are referred to as link signals.  

13. Create a Dedicated Webpage for Each Product/Service You Offer

Because search engines do not regard your brand as an authority in one specific area, putting everything on one page reduces the strength of your local SEO juice. It reduces your chances of ranking. So give one page to each product or service you provide. 

Here are some best product page examples you can emulate.

15. Invest in Google Ads with Local Keywords

Keyword targeting might be complex, so it’s best to use a tool like Google Ads to target local keywords. This way, you can ensure that the right people see your ads in the right area.  

Local SEO Tools

If you are looking to take your website’s performance one step further, these are some of the most effective local SEO tools at your disposal:

1. Semrush Listing Management: set for increasing internet presence and uncovering marketing information.  

1. Synup: harness the power of local marketing  

1. Moz Local: Best for automated data synchronization  

1. Yext: Search technology that understands natural language through data  

1. BrightLocal: Best for a user-friendly interface  

1. Whitespark: Best for tracking local citations  

1. GrowthBar: for keyword research and tracking SEO rankings.    

1. Serpstat Local SEO: for search marketing growth campaign  

1. Uberall: cloud-based data management  

1. GeoRanker: This low-cost solution enables us to identify, collect, and monitor essential local SEO focal points. 

Outrank Your Local Competitors And Gain More Customers  

Improve your local SEO and gain more customers by implementing the abovementioned strategies. Invest in effective tools, create a dynamic presence on social media, optimize page structure, focus on link signals, and take advantage of online business directories. 

By doing this, Our SEO services will help you outrank your local competitors and gain more customers. We have all the best SEO strategies to ensure your website gets the attention it deserves. 

 

Boost Your Business Visibility With Local SEO Strategies 

Local SEO plays a critical role in driving traffic to your business. A combination of effective strategies and tools can help you outrank local competitors and boost your business visibility. 

Optimize your page structure, focus on link signals, hone in on local keywords, and take advantage of online business directories. Check out our blogs about local SEO strategies and tools to help you get more customers.