Why Your Business Needs Local SEO
Most entrepreneurs can appreciate the importance of digital marketing and the need to rank well on Google. However, organic rankings on general keywords aren’t the only priority. Frankly, your business needs local SEO too.
Local SEO is essentially the same as organic SEO, only with a geographical parameter associated to it. While you may not feel that your city is overly significant compared to the products or services that you offer, you couldn’t be more wrong.
People Are Actively Searching for Local Businesses
Did you know that 46% of all Google searches are localised searches? This means that failure to focus on local SEO practices instantly cuts your potential audience down to almost half the size. Moreover, the people searching for companies in your area are almost certainly located nearby, meaning that they are your demographic. It would be madness to overlook this factor.
While you do not want to ignore the other 54% of searches either, the need for local SEO could not be clearer. After all, consumers are searching for local companies for a reason.
Local Searches Generate Leads
Research into consumer habits shows that almost 9 in 10 people that search for a local service via their smartphone or tablet will physically visit a local store within 24 hours. When your company appears in the Snack Pack or at the top of the organic local search results, the probability of users choosing your company is greatly increased.
Getting people through the door is one of the hardest challenges facing any company, and the fact that local search engine optimisation strategies allow you to do it should highlight the significance.
Local SEO Helps You Appear On The Snack Pack
The Snack Pack mentioned in the above point describes the three local businesses that are shown to users before the organic SERPs show. Naturally, appearing here can generate trust and traffic as consumers associate a strong presence with reliability and reputation. The coveted Snack Pack is thought to gain 44% of clicks from local searches.
Smart SEO tricks, particularly in relation to your Google My Business listing can significantly boost your chances of appearing in one of the three highly sought-after spots.
More Data Equals More Trust
While the position of your business on the SERPs is an important aspect, it’s not the only way to gain trust. Boosting your local SEO through strategies such as publishing the NAP information is sure to naturally provide more data about the company. And when people feel that your business is open and transparent, they’ll have one less reason to have concerns about using it.
The local presence also shows that you understand the needs of clients in this part of the world, which also promotes a positive reputation. 97% of people find out more info online. Don’t ignore it.
It’s Easier to Succeed In The Local Market
Roughly half of all businesses are yet to sign up for their GMB listing. Likewise, thousands focus exclusively on organic keywords. Therefore, spotting opportunities to rank highly on local keyword placement is far more likely. This can produce great results with particularly quick turnarounds, allowing the company to reap the rewards ASAP.
Besides, the sheer volume of companies fighting for places on local keywords is far smaller than those battling for page one rankings on organic terms. Local SEO is easier to master by far.
Local SEO Has A Bigger Reach Than Store Marketing
Your shop signs will hopefully attract people that are walking or driving by. However, the number of people that do this will be limited. Local SEO can be found anybody that searches the area. Rather than a shop sign that has a 50m reach, you may have a marketing tool that boasts a 50mi reach instead.
Roughly 3 in 4 people prefer shopping in stores, if they have the time. Local searches direct allows them to do this. If your site performs well, they will find their way to your door.
Local SEO Boosts Web Sales Too
When consumers complete local searches, they aren’t always desperate for instant results. In many cases, they simply want the most convenient approach. If they can complete and receive their product while still knowing that they can return the product to a local store should a problem occur can influence their decision-making processes.
Moreover, users that arrive at the site following a local search may browse other products and sales. Whether they complete a purchase online or in store, the CLV will soar.
SEO Is Still King
The world of digital marketing has evolved in many ways. However, searches still provide 3x the traffic of social media. Meanwhile, studies show that marketers convert a greater conversion percentages through SEO despite spending more time on social media and email endeavours. Any business that continues to overlook the need for search engine optimisation is asking to fail.
Thanks to the changing consumer habits in regards to how data is accessed, there is no question that any local company needs to master local SEO. And now is the time to make it happen.
Local SEO Is Built for The Future
A strong local SEO strategy isn’t only designed to serve you well today. It also incorporates ideas like voice search, which are growing at a rapid rate. Research suggests that 50% of all searches will be voice searches in 2020, so this is the time to capitalise. People are likely to search for local terms, which is another reason why local SEO should be high on the agenda.
Google algorithms are constantly changing, but local terms are impacted less than organic searches. Consequently, the local SEO strategy is the most practical by far.
Local SEO will boost your online presence on Google and other search engines, leading to an increase in both foot traffic and web traffic. Moreover, the fact that the consumers are more likely to actively complete a transaction means that conversions should soar too. The fact that many companies still overlook the benefits of it only provides further incentives to place more attention on this part of the digital marketing strategy. When you do, the results are phenomenal.
