Local SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is crucial for every business. It allows online buyers to find your website so they can engage more with your business. The business can then take advantage of the traffic to create leads and send potential online buyers through the sales channel.
But what if a buyer wanted to find a business in their locality, instead of buying products from a business in another part of the world? This is where local SEO comes in.
Let’s first define what this type of SEO is and then proceed with knowing the benefits of local SEO for your business:
Local SEO involves making your business appear on the first page of Google on local searches. Think of a customer who’s looking for plumbing services. They’ll search on Google for available plumbers in the area. They’re more likely to contact the business that shows up in the search.
The same can be said for any other type of business with a physical presence. Any customers who want to avail of products or services locally, local SEO will enable relevant businesses to pop up in their searches.
Let’s take a look at more reasons why your business website should optimize local SEO:
With the growth of information technology and e-commerce, more people now prefer searching for products and even services online.
Customers will go on a search engine, like Google, and search the products and services that they need. Often, they’ll end up buying from businesses whose websites appear on the first page of google.
In addition to listing your business’ products or services, Local SEO also helps place it on the top of the listings. This makes your business more visible, helping boost sales.
Local SEO, just like with any form of SEO, is quantifiable. SEO tools such as Google My Business and Google Analytics can provide you with the data you need to push your business to the top of the first page of Google.
For this, you’ll need to be able to interpret the data and draw reasonable conclusions from it. For instance, you can find out which pages your customers are engaging with as well as what they are least interested in.
With that, you can decide on what changes and improvements you need to make in order to rank your business even higher. The higher your business can rank on the local SEO search, the more visible it’ll be to potential customers, thus the more traffic the site will experience. This traffic can then be sent through the sales funnel.
Since more people are using the internet to search for products, services, and businesses in their area, a business that pops up in their Google search will remain in the potential customer’s mind.
When they do commit to purchasing your product and services, they’ll automatically think about your business. Then, they’ll contact you or visit your business premises to buy your products or services.
Even if there are other similar businesses in your area, yours will be the first they’ll consider since it’s the business they were able to locate at the comfort of their homes.
Your business will experience a high conversion rate from local customers than it would from international customers. This is because local customers naturally feel like it’s far easier and takes less time to purchase products from a business located in their area compared to a business that’s far off.
Because of this, you’ll get more local leads converting to customers. Considering that customers will likely begin their search online, businesses that don’t appear on local SEO won’t be considered. This will subsequently mean a higher bottom line.
Another major advantage of local SEO is that once customers find your website and engage with it, they’re more likely to become repeat customers.
Remember that your website will act as a business office where potential clients can find everything that they need to know about the business.
By providing a section where they can drop their reviews, this will also encourage other potential customers to buy your products or services. After all, customers want to purchase products that have reviews to get a better understanding of their performance without first committing their hard-earned cash.
As much as purchasing online is becoming more popular, there’s no denying that customers are also skeptical of sending their money to a business that they have no interaction with.
It’s easier for customers to purchase from a source that they can trust rather than a business that they know nothing about.
Local SEO puts your business on the map, helping its credibility. Coupled with the fact that your website should provide valuable information, customers are more likely to purchase from you.
Building on the trust and credibility is a great way to promote the business brand.
Other marketing strategies will require the business to constantly invest to remain relevant in the market. This can consume a large portion of the business revenue.
Think of the cost of advertising or hiring a sales team. To keep these types of strategies effective, you’ll need to regularly pay a fee or pay wages and salaries.
However, while the businesses will also require to work on SEO on a regular basis to conquer the market, the costs are far less after the initial investment and the effects of good Local SEO will last a long time to come.
From improving visibility to increasing the bottom line, local SEO is a must for a business that wants to stay ahead of the competition. For one, customers would want to choose a business that’s within their locality as they can immediately have the products or services they’re looking for. With the rate at which internet technology is growing and the rate of market competition, it would be hard to imagine a business surviving without SEO, particularly local SEO.