What Is Local SEO
Local SEO is a strategy used to help business owners to be more visible on Google search results. Any business with a physical location can take advantage of local SEO.
Local SEO Google
Local SEO helps boost local businesses. Let’s imagine a scenario:
You plan to go to the beach. You search online for places you could visit and eat. While doing it, you notice that the options are limited. However, when you reach the location and search again, you are bombarded by many places you can visit.
Google understands the geographical constraints during the search. It typically answers the keyword “near me” or searches for something “in[CITY].” It works better when you are at the locality you are visiting.
It started when there was a 900% increase in searches with the phrase “near me today/tonight” between 2017-2019. Since then, Google has started giving results for geographically-related inquiries. Which is based on:
Proximity This refers to where the searcher is located. It is the locality where the searcher is at a certain time.
Prominence This pertains to how important a certain object, place, or person is
Relevance Depending on the proximity and prominence of the subject being searched is the ranking of the said material.
You know Google is there to take advantage of this trend when there is this much search volume. So, they did, and local businesses tend to flourish under these conditions.
Local SEO Strategy
Hiring a local SEO company can benefit local businesses. It is proved to be more cost-effective than investing in advertising.
It is a virtual “word of mouth” for businesses. Instead, words pass from person to person. They pass through the internet.
Having local businesses tagged in Google Maps can be a prestige. It holds a specific advantage against a similar company that does not have a presence on the internet. The more traffic, the more chances it can convert into sales. After all, the internet is where most people spend their time in a day.
Local SEO Optimization
Taking advantage of Local SEO is easier than you think and can be counter-intuitive.
- Google My Business
- Citations
- Website
- Content
After having a website or Facebook page, include your business in major search engines and online business directories (Google My Business, Yelp, Bing Places, and, again, Facebook). To make it easier for the search engine to verify your business is legit.
Google My Business
If you want to create brand awareness, Google My Business is the right choice, and it must be on top of your to-do list. It helps you to be visible on Google Maps along with Google Search.
Being present on Google My Business helps you get more reviews and ratings. Being absent on Google My Business means losing customers.
Citations
Citations are another way of being known locally. It helps you get visibility. Major search engines use these citations as a reference to help people get the correct information. The vital thing to do while creating citations is consistency because incorrect information may cause you low rank on search engine rankings.
Website
Another way to create citations is the website, which helps you build brand awareness using keywords. Providing as much information as possible on the website attracts more customers. They might click on your website link instead of other listings.
Content
Adding local keywords to your website can significantly impact your business. Include a business identifier like “florist in [CITY, ST].” So do not forget to include the nature of your business or job title on your website and the city and name of your business’s street so you can easily be found on the web.
Creating eye-catching content is critical in boosting brand awareness and, ultimately, the business. It will bring more leads to your website that you can convert into sales.
But you must make sure to give value to the customer in what they are interested in.
Have A Consistent Information
Ensure all your information is consistent across all platforms (Google My Business, Yelp, Bing Places, and Facebook). If you change your address or contact details, ensure that you correct or update them promptly and consistently.
Respond To All The Reviews
Whether it is a good or bad review, you need to respond to all of it. Think of it as the YouTube algorithm; it needs comments and interaction. This will also show your customers that you care and tend to improve your product and services.
The Challenging Part Of Local SEO
However, it is not all unicorns and rainbows. There is a Google ranking that you need to contend with and some more. Here is when it gets challenging.
If you are the only business on the web, that is all well and good. It is the rise to the top of the Google ranking. Unfortunately, sales strategies will come into play if you have local competitors which are also online.
It is not enough to have a presence online, and there is a need to be seen more often than not. Here are some marketing strategies that you can use.
Conduct Simple Survey
Conduct a simple and subtle survey. Ask your customers how they learn about your establishment, whether through Google search, referrals, or other means of marketing. This way, you will know which medium is effective and which to let go of in the future. After establishing a rapport with customers, this should be the first thing to ask.
Video Testimonials For Local SEO
You can incorporate video testimonials into your websites. This is where you ask for an extra mile from your customers. Preferably your most loyal patrons, and take a video of them testifying how good your product or service is. Tip: clients during the testimony should not wear striped shirts.
Color Scheme
It may seem trivial but having the company’s color in the background of your video testimonial goes a long way. It will give an impression that your company is professional and knows what it is doing.
Live Up To The Expectations
Be cordial and accommodating when the customers’ online search turns into a physical store visit, and live up to your expectations.
Loyalty Programs For Local SEO
Have a loyalty program. This way, you will have repeat customers, and they will have a reason to return to your physical store.
Be Consistent
Be consistent with everything to do with how to run your business. Keep up good practices and see how it will be rewarded.
Many of the above tips do not cost at all, but keeping them consistent is the hard part.
Local SEO Benefits
80% of shoppers use their cellphones inside the physical store to compare prices. Moreover, 44% use mapping applications when searching for local businesses. 92% use Yelp to look for local businesses they can return to. Read product reviews, and look for alternative stores.
Furthermore, 72% of consumers searching for local businesses are within a five-mile radius. 80% of local searches on mobile phones converted into sales, and 82% of shoppers will not choose retailers with less than 3 stars.
USA Local Seo
About 46% of all Google searches are local. More than 50% of ‘near me’ searches resulted in physical store visits. In the US, 56% had searched for local businesses using mobile browsers; almost a third of consumers used the internet to search for local businesses daily. Also, 78% of consumers focus on recent reviews. 90% of social media users attempt to reach our retailers and brands, and 70% of buyers have used “best place to buy” in their mobile search for the past two years.
Was that not enough motivation to take advantage of the local SEO?
Conclusion
SEO is virtually free and maintenance-free, too.
This will cost you if you want your business to stay at the top of the Google search engine. But that makes you no different from other businesses.
Think of it as a chance to equalize businesses competing for the national market. Local companies now have an opportunity to go toe-to-toe against them. Small businesses using Local SEO have home advantages if they play it smartly.
Google lets you utilize the same tools or advertising it offers to any business. So, a word of advice for business owners: grab the opportunity.
Learn about a great tool that can help you to reach more customers.