Why Local SEO Is So Important to Your Small Business
Most of us have heard about Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. It’s a critical factor in getting found on the web. However, if you are a small business providing a service or product in specific areas, local SEO is a critical and effective strategy to gain ground against your competition.
According to an article posted by Bright Local, here are some statistics on how local SEO impacts online searches and purchases:
- 96% of PC owners conduct local searches
- 46% of all Google searches are local
- 64% of local customers use search engines and directories as their main way to find local businesses
- 50% of local mobile searchers look for business information (like a company’s address or phone number)
- 78% of local mobile searches result in an offline purchase
How Does Local SEO Help?
So how does improving your local SEO help your business? Here are some ways, to name a few.
1. Target customers in your area.
Local SEO will focus on the demographics where you do business. This is a powerful tool for small business owners, especially those who have recently started their companies.
2. Link building.
Local SEO can build partnerships between your business and other companies that complement your goals and objectives. It can help you meet potential clients to help your business grow. Marketers can build and share their link with local search engines like Google Places, Bing Places, Yahoo Local, Yelp, Foursquare and YP.
3. Reach mobile users.
Mobile users are the largest category of people searching for goods and services. Local and proximity-based searches are becoming more common on smart phones, smart watches and tablets. Targeting these mobile users must be part of your local SEO marketing plan.
4. Business extension.
With a good local SEO plan, you are making it easier for local customers to find you. Even if you have a physical location for your business, your website is like a 2nd location where online searches find you first. It’s important to optimize it for local SEO and add fresh and interesting content often.
Getting Your Local SEO to Work for YOU
A Local SEO strategy and implementation takes time, but it’s definitely worth the effort! One of the best ways to get started is to get an audit and analysis on your current site. Philadelphia SEO for Growth offers a free audit of your w
ebsite. We will provide you with a report on how your business stands for local SEO. We can then help you develop a strategy to improve your local SEO to improve your local search rankings.
Some steps to take in improving your local SEO include:
- Performing keyword research. These are words and phrases that customers use to find your business and product/service. This can be challenging to find keywords that are unique and that your competitors already aren’t using. Sometimes using “long tail” phrases helps make it more specific.
- Optimizing your content. As you’ve heard, “Content is King”. Making sure your website offers useful and interesting will help increase your local SEO. It is no longer effective to stuff your site with keywords and phrases—Google has become too smart for that! The more content you are able to add, the better — provided that all of it offers valuable advice, information, or entertainment value to the web audience.
- Get your business on Google My Business and local directories. Google My Business is critical to increasing your local SEO. Also, creating or claiming your listings and/or citations on local directories like YP, Yelp, Angie’s List and others. The Name, Address, Phone Number (NAP) MUST be consistent across your website and local citation websites. We cannot stress the importance of this as it pertains to local SEO.
- Ask for and monitor reviews. This is a tricky area, but if you politely request reviews from customers, it will help you see where you stand. There are ways you can mitigate less-than-positive reviews too.
- Get your name out there! Social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter and others are a great way to keep people interested and talking about your business.
Let Us Help You Get Found Locally!
Once you know what needs to be done to improve your local SEO, Philadelphia SEO for Growth can help you create and implement a strategy that will increase your local search rankings. Contact us today to find out how!