Of all the marketing trends, local SEO is one that can receive a very lukewarm reception. Some people view it as a vital way to be seen by potential customers, yet others feel local SEO is invaluable because it is “small fry.” But let’s show you if local SEO still matters.
How it Can Help Burgeoning Businesses
Many experts talk about a comprehensive SEO plan but seldom talk about the benefits of local SEO. Local SEO began with the goal of utilizing measures to help businesses get their website seen by users. This was done through three key components: organic internet searches, referrals, and reviews. Local SEO is vital for those businesses starting small. You can see through local SEO providers like BWG that driving these three key components is essential to business success on a very basic level. But local SEO has had short shrift. Local SEO makes it seem like it is more “small SEO,” and therefore, a bit irrelevant. But when we break it down, we can use local SEO to our advantage.
The Benefits of “The Trifecta”
When individuals are looking for a specific service, the search will go within certain geo qualifiers, such as “near me” searches. Google provides local search results as a priority. When we delve deeper into the importance of organic search, keywords are also important as they will help to identify and locate services and products. When we incorporate referrals, as well as reviews, this forms a trifecta of strength in a local setting. These three areas aim to improve local SEO.
Why Is Local SEO Important?
Firstly, it is vital to utilize local SEO because, on a basic level, when you are trying to get people interested in your product, you need to go out into the streets and bring people towards your store. When you are running a brick-and-mortar store rather than a digital marketplace, the smartphone is integral to providing immediate results in the nearby area. Many local searches originate from people looking on a device to find something nearby.
In addition, non-locals can benefit from your SEO. Searches may come from people who are not local and need to find a specific service. If you use local SEO correctly, you can capture an audience of non-locals. For example, if you run a restaurant, you can incorporate crucial information, such as free Wi-Fi, as part of your local SEO strategy to attract certain customers.
Incorporating Local SEO Effectively
Many small businesses can neglect local SEO as a marketing tool. When we are running a business that relies on local customs, we may think that there is no point in using the internet to further define our internet presence. But using local SEO is about configuring your presence online. These days, there are plenty of marketing companies that use tools to get clients seen online, which includes local SEO. You can start by giving as much information to Google My Business as possible. This includes your business, location, telephone number, and everything you want your potential customers to know.
Local SEO is not just about ensuring you are visible to people nearby, but it is about being able to rank locally as well. As with SEO, where we need to rank higher based on certain keywords, we can apply similar principles to rank locally. And these comprise two practices:
Local pack ranking. This is where you can rank right at the top of your search engine results page, as they appear before the organic results.
Localized organic ranking. This is a traditional SEO practice but focuses on localized keywords and backlinks.
Implementing consistency is also another thing to consider. Your name, address, and phone number need to be correct on every single online directory, not just on Google My Business. This is crucial to ranking highly. It is important to remember that Google has the power to penalize you if you provide conflicting business information.
After you get your information consistent, you need to make sure that your website is easy for search engines to read. You can do this by implementing schema markup, also known as structured data. It does require a slight bit of knowledge of coding but there is a wide variety of resources out there to get you started. It is important to go over this because search engines can analyze your content easier, meaning that the system is easier to read, which will impact your ranking.
Have You Optimized Your Website for Your Mobile?
Local businesses can fall foul of not optimizing their content for mobile. Local businesses can make the mistake of thinking that they are too small to matter in this respect. If you start to optimize your content for mobile, this will make a big difference in comparison to your direct competitor who is not optimized for mobile.
The Importance of Getting More Reviews
We’ve already said how important getting in positive referrals is, and the great thing about local businesses is that you can get to know people on a more personal level, which will help you to build a relationship with them, resulting in more positive reviews. Online reviews are crucial, and you can incorporate 5-star reviews using specific methods, such as on the Google Places API.
Does Local SEO Matter?
As Search Engine Optimization is thoroughly embedded into our ability to rank, we can neglect local SEO. But the fact is that local SEO is such a crucial component of your ability to market your business, by improving your online presence, but also making the most of SEO in other ways. For those people who are running brick-and-mortar stores, it is an invaluable way to improve your local stance, but it will also improve your local search engine rankings for your website. It is so important to focus on being visible online, but people seldom focus on one aspect or another. When it comes to promoting your business, you need to cover all bases. Is local SEO dead? Not in the slightest