With the rise in map-based searches, local search engine optimization (SEO) presents an opportunity for small businesses to enhance their visibility on maps and attract local customers.
"If people can't find you, they can't buy from you," said Strato Doumanis, Chief Technology Officer and Creative Director of MediaCutlet. "Local SEO helps small businesses get discovered by customers in their area at the exact moment they're searching for a product or service."
Here's why local SEO is so important for small businesses and some expert-recommended strategies for maximizing your efforts.
[Read more: What Is a "Local" Business, And How Can You Market Yourself As One?]
Why small businesses need local SEO
Local SEO benefits small businesses looking to improve their digital marketing strategies. Here are seven reasons why small businesses should utilize local SEO.
Increases local brand awareness
By optimizing your company’s online presence for local search intent and engaging with your target audience through social media, you can expand your visibility and attract more customers. Creating locally relevant content through blog posts or social media updates showcases your ties to the community, further contributing to building brand awareness and fostering customer loyalty. When small businesses appear in local search results, they gain credibility and are more likely to attract local customers, particularly when they receive positive reviews.
Creates a cost-effective marketing strategy
Local SEO is a cost-effective marketing strategy, which enables small businesses to target local customers and track the effectiveness of their efforts.
By using tools such as Google Analytics, you can monitor website traffic and identify the keywords that are driving visitors to your website.
Local SEO's biggest advantage is its ability to reduce marketing costs by tailoring and optimizing websites, leveraging online resources, and avoiding the need for costly ad campaigns or print materials.
"If a significant portion of your revenue relies on local customers or foot traffic, local SEO is essential," explained Doumanis. "It can get you in front of your audience without burning through ad dollars."
Builds trust and credibility
You can gain credibility and trust from your target audience by appearing in local market search results, which is more appealing to potential customers. Local SEO uses local backlinks — links from other local businesses and websites pointing to your website — to cultivate trust and credibility.
"Ask for a link to be made to your website homepage any time you work with another business, your town, or even a local nonprofit. They can put these links on their websites or even in press releases," advised Stephen Duetzmann, SEO and Content Strategist at SideQuestSolutions. "These backlinks are valuable because they tell search engines that you are an active and engaged part of the community."
Backlinks not only demonstrate to search engines that your website is trustworthy and authoritative, but they also establish reliability and credibility for current or potential customers.
[Read more: How to Ensure Your Business Website Is SEO-Optimized]
Pushes you ahead of the competition
Effective local SEO strategies can give small businesses a competitive edge in their area. Optimizing your online presence for local searches leads to an increase in visibility and can help you stand out among your competitors. You can ensure that your business reaches your target audience.
"With mobile searches like '... near me' constantly increasing, showing up in local search results can mean the difference between landing a customer and losing them to a competitor down the street," Doumanis noted.
If people can't find you, they can't buy from you. Local SEO helps small businesses get discovered by customers in their area at the exact moment they're searching for a product or service.
Strato Doumanis, Chief Technology Officer and Creative Director of MediaCutlet
Increases local traffic
The main goal of SEO is to drive more traffic to your online profile or website, increasing sales and spreading awareness of your business.
Local SEO specifically targets relevant traffic from your area, resulting in visitors who are more likely to respond to your content. This localized traffic consists of potential customers who connect with your content and ads. By implementing these SEO strategies and creating localized content that resonates with your target consumer, you can attract more traffic from your desired customer base.
Improves conversion rates
Conversion rates — or the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action like making a purchase — aren't always higher because of increased traffic. However, with local SEO, you target potential customers who are more likely to convert.
"People who search for businesses and services in their area are much more likely to be looking to buy," Duetzmann explained. "This makes being at the top of the search results page very important."
By attracting relevant traffic through local SEO strategies, you increase the likelihood of sales and ultimately achieve better conversion rates. If you want to improve your conversion rates, the key is to implement effective local SEO tactics that bring in interested and potential customers, increasing the opportunity for successful conversions.
Achieves long-lasting rankings
The impact of SEO results is longer lasting compared to other traditional marketing methods. While maintaining updated information and optimizing local SEO is necessary, once you achieve high rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs), you are likely to retain that position for a significant period. Google tailors its search results to meet customer requests, so targeting a specific local audience through local SEO can result in long-lasting SERP rankings. Ranking on the first page of SERPs is crucial for building trust in your customers and driving web traffic.
Tips for boosting local traffic and SEO
Whether you're diving into local SEO for the first time or want to refine your efforts, these expert tips can ensure your efforts are worthwhile.
Optimize your Google Business Profile.
According to Duetzmann, the first step to improving your local SEO is setting up a Google Business Profile and ensuring everything is current. He recommends taking the following steps to optimize your profile:
- Ensure your business name, address, and phone number are accurate and consistent.
- Include a detailed description of your business, including relevant keywords.
- Post your business hours and high-quality images.
- Encourage customers to leave Google reviews.
Gather and respond to customer reviews.
Customer reviews don't just boost your Google Business Profile and increase your likelihood of appearing in searches (though it's a substantial upside). They also lend your brand credibility and can help sway customers to patronize your business. In fact, a Statista survey found that 98% of U.S. consumers read online reviews of local businesses at least occasionally, with 76% doing so either regularly or always.
Once you've encouraged and collected customer reviews, make sure you respond to them — good or bad. This step, Doumanis explained, shows engagement and trustworthiness. Thanking people for their kind words can demonstrate a strong commitment to customer service and appreciation. Addressing negative reviews offers you an opportunity to right the ship or clear up any misunderstandings.
Leverage local keywords.
Adding local keywords in your copy can help search engines identify you as a reputable local business. Duetzmann recommends ensuring that your website includes the name of your town (and even neighboring towns) in places like headings and your "About Us" section.
However, Doumanis added that it's crucial to write naturally rather than keyword-stuff your copy.
"Cramming 'best plumber in [city]' into every paragraph makes your site difficult to read and actually hurts rankings," he explained.
To incorporate local SEO content naturally, Doumanis recommends blogging about local events, news, or relevant industry topics. This strategy, he explained, can help drive organic traffic from people searching for things happening in your area.
[Read more: 4 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Practices Every Small Business Must Know]
Prepare to play the long game.
Finally, remember that any SEO strategy takes time to pay off. Both Doumanis and Deutzmann emphasized the importance of consistent and ongoing efforts to boost local SEO.
"SEO is a long game that benefits from small, deliberate action over periods of time. Be consistent, but don't panic," said Duetzmann.
For small business owners lacking time or bandwidth to dedicate to local SEO, Doumanis recommends enlisting the help of someone who does rather than letting the task fall by the wayside.
"A good SEO strategy pays off in the long run, bringing in customers consistently without having to rely solely on ads," Doumanis said.
Lauren Kubiak contributed to this article.
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