If you run a small business and have begun to market your business online, then you would already be aware of the power of SEO. However, with everyone using the same techniques, it’s a highly competitive field.
Small business local SEO is becoming an increasingly important marketing strategy for local businesses. When you can rank well in local search, it can bring more customers and sales to your stores.
For many small businesses, creating a base of local customers is the key to success. By tailoring your SEO to local markets, you can reach these potential customers and avoid sinking into the sea of big fish companies. If you are still not convinced read below the 7 benefits of local SEO for small businesses.
1. Relevant Traffic at Little Cost
The biggest advantage of local SEO is pulling a targeted audience. The people near you who are already searching for your type of services. These are the potential customers for your business that would most likely become your regular buyers.
Expanding your website’s reach to include local searchers can be just as beneficial as a traditional SEO campaign, But it is faster and affordable. By using local SEO techniques to rank high in local search results, you can bring your company directly to your target customers.
Focusing on local SEO can provide a significant financial boost. So, imagine the time and money involved in preparing and distributing a newspaper, sending out a direct mail, or planning a radio campaign. Then you may realize that the efforts you put into your local SEO strategies are way easier.
2. Utilize Other Platforms
Another big advantage of local SEO is that you can use platforms other than Google to market your business. As businesses turn to high-tech apps for local marketing, a few startups are helping them stand out among the crowd. Few marketing platforms are listed below.
- Waze
- Yelp
- Yellowpages
- TripAdvisor
- Foursquare
- Apple Maps
If there’s a large company near you that dominates the rankings on Google, you can still utilize these platforms for marketing your business. These platforms are not as big as Google individually. But capitalizing on all of them can provide you with a healthy amount of leads.
People rely more heavily on mobile devices, local businesses are becoming increasingly reliant on these platforms to reach customers. As our mobile devices become more and more powerful, local businesses use them to reach customers in their neighborhoods.
3. Build a Following Locally
One way to develop a local following is through social media. Social media can help you cultivate a loyal following of people interested in your business and the areas it serves. It can help you stay aware of local events, news, and trends. It also allows you to engage with your local audience.
Other local SEO platforms work similarly as well. By using Yelp or Google Maps you can search any business, view the services they provide, book an appointment, purchase an item or even contact help.
Your customers can ask questions, answer questions, leave a comment or review your product or services. You can create a community through consistent engagement on your website that interacts well with your customers. Due to this continuous activity, people start trusting your product or services.
4. Make your Online Presence More Visible
It’s a business’ job to attract new customers but it’s also important to let your neighbors know that you exist. Think about how many times you search for stores and services in your community. Now, imagine that is multiplied by your area’s population.
When you rank in top searches and someone in your area searches for a type of service or product you are providing, you get a chance to appear at the top of their search results. Consider even If they don’t choose you at that time, they may remember you and choose you in the future.
By utilizing Local SEO best practices you may even be able to put your small business on the same level as a large corporation. You may not be the biggest or have the most money, but you can offer just as much to your customers as anyone else. This is one of the biggest benefits of SEO for local businesses.
Provide Ad Campaigns
Apps like Yelp and Waze are helping small businesses to market themselves locally. Yelp, Waze, and others also allow you to create ads, which can help you reach a wider customer base. They can message you directly, or place links on your website to drive them to a booking form, menu, or shopping cart.
5. Build Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness
To improve local search rankings, create content that is useful and relevant to your local audience. Attracting a local audience helps your business to appear in local searches and attract more local customers.
To help establish your business as trustworthy and authoritative, use local content on your website. When you provide your potential customers with the information they need, they will see your business as a valuable source in your field.
To strengthen the local SEO of your business, it is essential to generate high-quality reviews for your website. A high volume of reviews and a high average rating is one of the most important factors in ranking well in your local search. According to a survey, reviews influence 97% of consumers’ purchasing decisions
Reviews help people choose smaller businesses over competitors. If you have a high rating with many reviews, you will look trustworthy to people who find you through a search. Following this strategy help you become an expert in your niche.
6. Decrease Advertisement Cost
When a company’s website gets more relevant traffic, that company sees an increase in sales. As customers search for local businesses to satisfy their needs, demonstrating your authority in your area will increase the likelihood that someone will purchase from you.
If consumers are unsure whether they want to buy or not, they may be reassured by seeing your business near them now. Customers have more trust in products or services near them as compared to purchasing from out of their region.
7. Boost Leads and Sales
By implementing all the above-mentioned local SEO techniques your website’s ranking in Google’s local search will improve significantly. You can reach a lot of customers, and you can build your name in a convenient, inexpensive way.
According to HubSpot, three out of four people don’t click past the first page of search results. You can monitor your website’s traffic sources in Google Analytics to see who is coming to your site from search engines and other websites. You should also estimate your conversion rate.
Analyzing your conversion rate can also give your insight into how much each conversion is worth to your business. It usually depends on the service or product you are providing. By researching and analyzing your competitors, you can predict how much more business you will gain when you rank higher in local searches.
