When it comes to reaching customers in your area, local SEO is a vital marketing tool. It allows you to promote your business to those most likely to visit – particularly important is you have a brick-and-mortar store. But how important is local SEO and is it something that your marketing department needs to consider in their strategy. This blog post will answer that question here today.
What is local SEO?
This variation of normal SEO is aimed at ensuring local people can find your business. It is a way of using commonly searched keywords in your online content to ensure Google and other search engines return your website for local searches. It is incredibly effective, allowing you to grow your offline business through online tools. When your target audience makes a search for businesses similar to you, successful local SEO will ensure your business comes up as one of the top results.
Does local SEO benefit businesses of all types?
It’s important to remember that local SEO means targeting those customers within the area where your business is based. Therefore, if you offer a service nationally or don’t have a physical store, local SEO may not need to be such a focus. On the flip side, it is extremely powerful for small business owners and those looking to drive store footfall. Local SEO can also benefit those who offer their services to a large area, such as plumbers, mobile hairdressers or taxi services.
The main goal of Local SEO is to get your website into Google’s local 3-pack. These are the top 3 searches returned on a digital card that shows when a user searches for a local business. An example of this would be a search for ‘chinese restaurant’. Google assumes the users wants the details for a local Chinese restaurant and will scour the Internet for the ones it deems most relevant. According to a Forbes study, 95% of smartphone users have used their digital device to perform a local search. Of these, an impressive 65% of these resulted in the user calling the businesses it found. And, a further 59% of users actually visited the store. Therefore, this powerful tool simple cannot be ignored.
How can I improve my local SEO?
Improving local SEO isn’t something that happens overnight. It requires you to clearly understand the keywords your local audience are using and implement them in a natural manner throughout your online content. Some of the ways you can improve your rankings include:
- Optimizing your Google My Business account to ensure all information is correct.
- Ask past customers to leave reviews on your website so Google can deem your business authentic
- Create content about local news or events using the town/village/city name that you are targeting
- Hone in on local keywords using tools such as Google’s Keyword Planner
There are many other ways to improve local SEO for your website. Get in contact with the team at Media Orb today who can help you reach those local customers you keep missing.
