Though we aim and aspire for international peaks, we start from being local. Local recognition is the first step to our dream of reaching globally. So, local SEO will help people around you to know about your business. The kind of business which benefits from local SEO are restaurants, small shops, beauty parlours and saloons, electrical contractors et al.
If we look at how we try to find the “best cafés near me”, “unisex parlor” or “nearest biriyani restaurants near me”, we would understand how much importance the local SEOs play. According to surveys, local SEO has a key role to play in increasing customer visits in business and sales conversations.
What is Local SEO
Local Search Engine optimizes your website visibility and helps people find your business when they are searching online. It aims to give your business maximum reach and focus locally. Local search engines use the same components such as keyword research, link-building, content and on-page optimisations.
It optimizes visibility in google maps and Search Engine Research Pages (SERPs) as a part of its function so that the business can have maximum reach to the people searching for similar kinds online.
Who can benefit from local SEO?
Local SEO could be useful to any business which engages local audiences. The local search results will enable the audience to read reviews about the place, see videos and photos, direction of the place and contact details. Additionally, the audience can also compare similar results and choose the best for oneself.
SEO works as a free local advertiser
We know how important it is for businesses to advertise themselves in order to reach people. Mostly, through advertisement people know the name of your advertisement, local SEO allows you to advertise your business and provide much information to the viewers.
How does local SEO work?
Google My Business (GMB) listing is one of the most integral factors behind local SEO success.
GMB is a tool which tracks and manages how a business performs in the search engine. It’s a tool which helps all businesses to serve people physically but it’s not useful for businesses which operate only online.
You can add as many photos and videos you want in GMB, to make your business look approachable and interesting to the viewers. Customer reviews are a key factor in GMB, it’s an area of trust for your online viewers.
GMB is only the starting of the process, there are other important factors like keywords search, customized local content creation, local SEO links and appearing in local directories.
Quality content is a very important aspect of bettering SEO and in the goodwill of the business to the public. The content should be engaging and relevant with the readers, which will help in your credibility and strengthen relations with customers.
Online business citation and website, try to develop an impressive website for the customers. You can also add your social media links. Social media platforms help gain more audience, and not to forget the customer reviews on these platforms. Address the positive and definitely the negative reviews, you can ask for suggestions from the customers as well, to acknowledge their presence and opinions. Build as many links possible, they help to push the traffic to your side.
Let’s provide you a survey result of how useful local SEO can be :
- Half of the total people who searched on their phone went to store physically in one day
- 34 percent of people who searched on a desktop or tablet did the same.
- 18 percent of mobile searches which is local, lead to sale within a day
- 50% of people on their mobile phones who conduct local searches are looking for something such as a local business address.
- 1 in 3 searches on a phone was done just before arriving at a store physically.
Businesses that won’t benefit from local SEO
Though local SEO is extremely useful and important for businesses to grow and reach people, there are a few types of them who might not be benefited from this. Such as e-commerce shops, local authors and businesses that only have online presence.
There might be millions of businesses like yours, but your local SEO is something that will help you grow better in your locality, and that is the first step towards a global presence. By concentrating on the local SEO, you can build a prominent mark of your business. This also helps with your online visibility that results in more conversions. So, to succeed in your business and improve your revenues, concentrating on local SEO is important.