If you’re a local business owner competing with Amazon and Walmart for top rankings in Google, you might be thinking there’s no use in spending time and money to improve your online presence. With regard to the primary organic listings, that may be the case, but not with regard to local search.
This is Why Local SEO is Very Important
Assume the role of a bridal boutique in Charlotte, NC. Your ideal client is a prospective bride who is actively searching for a “bridal boutique, Charlotte North Carolina.” But well-known websites like blogs, top 10 lists, and directory sites populate the organic search results. Due to this, it is challenging to compete and to envision a path for the bride to take in order to get to your store.
Nevertheless, if you carry out local SEO, you’ll show up at the top of the search results and in the Local Pack, complete with helpful details like your location, phone number, and opening hours, as well as an image and a five-star review rating. The prospective bride can see that you provide excellent service, are nearby, and can quickly schedule a visit or give your store a call. Now is your chance to close a deal.
Local SEO’s Advantages
Increased Online Awareness
Numerous local SEO-related actions will assist you in increasing both your online visibility generally and your visibility in local search results. For instance, citation building is a crucial component of local SEO efforts. This entails increasing the number of times your company’s name, phone number, and physical address are mentioned online review sites, social media profiles, and directory listings. Ideally, the physical address also includes the zip code.
It is easier for your business to be found by the right people—those interested in your particular product or service in their local area—at the right time—when they are actively searching for a business like yours—because you will be doing this in as many different places as possible. For example, a TripAdvisor NAP could assist prospective guests in finding and reserving your B&B in Upstate New York.
Increased foot traffic inside the store
Increasing your local exposure can help your physical store—be it a hardware store, cafe, or dry cleaner—draw in more customers. If you have made significant investments in specialized equipment, created a unique space, or have a physical location because your products are best experienced in person, increasing the number of visitors will help you generate buzz about your area and increase sales.
Targeted Web Traffic
By filtering out irrelevant traffic and eliminating time-wasters that keep your company from operating effectively, local SEO can help make sure that searchers in your neighborhood can only see your company. This can be a big benefit since it lets you concentrate your efforts on the customers who are most likely to convert, as 59% of searchers use Google to research an in-store purchase.
More Calls and Enhanced visibility
Increasing your Google Maps visibility can be achieved by optimizing your Google Business Profile. Given that Google Maps was created especially to assist users in finding local services and planning their travels, this may consequently result in an increase in phone calls and in-person visits.
Since Google pulls data from Business Profiles to populate Maps, any optimization you do for your Google Business Profile will directly improve your Maps visibility and drive more calls and in-person visits.
Enhanced Trust Levels
It goes without saying that a vital component of local SEO strategy and a major ranking factor in local search results are reviews. As part of your reputation management plan, you will gain more visibility in local search results the more reviews you receive.
Reviews are also a necessary component of establishing customer trust, which is a crucial quality that comes before any commercial transaction.
Studies show that more customers than ever before read online reviews on a regular basis, and that half of them place an equal amount of trust in them as they do in personal recommendations.
Increase Sales
When selecting a local business, consumers consult online reviews to aid in their decision-making process. Approximately 8% of individuals search online more than once a week for information about nearby businesses. The ability to offer them genuine referrals for your company from their peers as a consequence of your reputation management efforts is a potent advantage and emphasizes the significance of local SEO.