Search engine optimization has become a vital part of marketing for many businesses. With digitalization, many businesses are taking advantage of the internet to grow their business. SEO is important for any business. Many businesses have started using the best use of SEO to improve their business and expand. Optimized content can help you rank higher on search results which can bring more people to your website which will result in more customers for your business.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO can be termed as a strategy solely aimed at improving search results in a particular area. Whether you have an offline or online business, local SEO is one strategy that you should make the best use of.
Competition is comparatively less for a local business. Local businesses are able to take advantage of this less competition to grow their brand or business. By making the best use of Local SEO, local businesses are able to generate more profit and increase their reach.
Local SEO can increase the visibility of your business which can provide more local opportunities. Consumers usually get more benefits from local brands compared to big international brands.
How Local SEO helps businesses?
Local seo can do wonders for businesses if used correctly. They have become a vital part of marketing now. Local seo has a lot of benefits for business. Some of them are :
Enhanced Traffic
If you want to enhance your traffic then there is no better tool other than local seo. Whether you are running a small or large business, local SEO is all you need to increase traffic for your business. Enhanced traffic will result in increased sales. More traffic means more sales for your business.
Better Conversion Rates
One of the main benefits of Local seo is better conversion rates compared to other ways of marketing. Local seo can improve web traffic and convert this traffic into potential customers for your business. As per a study, 28% of local searches on search engines will result in potential sales. This conversion rate is very high compared to other marketing ways.
Less Advertising Costs
We all know that local business depends largely on local audiences or customers. When you’re having a local business and want to reach more people, then local seo is the best solution in terms of cost. Creating banners, advertising on tv or local newspapers can be costly and it can cost double or triple the amount you spend on local seo. By adopting local seo, you can save a lot of money
Continuous Business Growth
Local seo helps in more sales for your business. It is the best marketing tool for local businesses. More sales results in more customers and increased profit for your business. This results in continuous growth for your business. Business will be able to keep their customers engaged for a long period of time.
Long-Lasting Ranking
One of the main benefits of local seo for your business is that it has a long term effect compared to other ways of marketing. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on local seo compared to traditional ways of marketing. Local SEO will help in long lasting ranking of your content on search engines.
Get More Local Reviews
According to a recent study, 87% of customers check reviews on the internet before purchasing products from a local business. Positive reviews are what you need to generate more revenue for your business. Good service will result in positive reviews from customers. These positive reviews can help you find more customers and generate more income for your business.
Fewer competitors, more business
When you search for a particular service in a particular area, search engines will provide more relevant results. For example, if you search for car washing services along with the name of the place where you’re looking for car washing services, the search engine will provide results only in that particular area you entered.
How to Improve Local SEO to Attract More Customers?
Local SEO can bring more traffic to your business than anything else. But improving seo is not an easy task. It takes a lot of effort to improve local seo to attract customers. The first thing you can do to improve your local seo is to apply some simple seo strategies to your website. For Example :
- Including contact and location pages
This should contain details of your business, including phone numbers, contact addresses, email addresses, and other contact details if you have any. Make sure the details you entered are correct.
- Adding a map
Adding a map to your website will make it easier for your customers to find the location of your business.
- Clickable contact information
Customers would want to contact you very easily and adding clickable contact information is the best thing you can do for your customers.
It’s important to understand that local seo works better when it’s made keeping in mind the basic and relevant search engine optimization practices.
Optimizing Google My Business Profile
This is an important step to do. Optimising on google business profile makes your business appear permanently on google maps and other local SERPs. Go to google my business profile homepage and fill in the necessary information and follow the required steps to complete the process. After completing this process your business will appear permanently on google maps and customers will be able to easily find your location.
Consistent Citations
Consistency matters a lot when it comes to search engine optimization. This is because consistent citations are a great way for customers to find you easily. It will also increase your credibility.
For local seo you need to ensure that name, address and phone number of your business are consistent across all publications including your own website and google business profile. Structure of your URL is also important for local SEO.
Monitoring customer reviews and requests for feedback
Reviews are important for every business. Positive reviews can increase the credibility of your business and they can help in higher rankings for your business on search engines. Monitor reviews of customers consistently and request feedback for the services offered. If there are any negative reviews about your business, Make sure to get in touch with the customers and help them with a solution. Be it positive or negative reviews, make sure to leave a reply to those reviews. This will make customers feel that you really want to help them if you’re facing any issues and you are customer friendly too.
Localized Content
When you’re running a local business, you need to give more importance to localised content. For local SEO, localised content is a must thing. When creating content for your business, you can include the name of your town or city in it. You can also sponsor local events to attract customers to your business. Interviewing people from your locality is also a good thing you can do. Discussing the recent happenings in your locality is also a great way to gain people’s attention.
Using Local Keywords
When you’re targeting a local audience, you should use more local keywords. Keywords play a major role in optimising your content. These keywords can be in one word or an entire sentence. You can make use of a keyword finder tool to find the best suited keywords for your local audience. It’s very important to keep in mind not to use too many keywords in your content. This is called over optimization and it will only leave a negative impact on your content. Concentrate on a few keywords and work on it instead of stuffing your content with a lot of keywords.
Make the best use of social media
There is no better marketing tool than social media these days. You should make full use of social media channels available at your disposal. Instagram, twitter and Facebook are some of the best social media channels you can use for your business. Having a strong social media presence is important for any business whether small or large. Make sure to add relevant details on your social media channels to increase your credibility. You can also use social media channels to connect with your customers.
Use online local business dictionaries
Using online local business dictionaries can help you improve local SEO and it can also increase the visibility of your content.
Keep in mind the following things :
- Make sure you enter the right spelling of your business and address
- Add a website URL
- Provide consistent information
- Add a well written and relevant description of your business.
Conclusion
Local seo can be said to be very similar to SEO but both are different in a lot of ways. Local seo concentrates more on local keywords and local audiences. Content, keywords, citations etc are made keeping in mind the local audience. The right content plays a major role in the local seo. You shouldn’t add irrelevant information to your content. You need to adopt and apply a good local seo strategy to grow your local business. The best strategy is the one that can result in better growth for your local business.