How Local SEO is beneficial for business growth?
October 5, 2017
As a business owner, unless you have been living under a rock, you will most definitely be aware of the marketing strategy, Search Engine Optimization or SEO.
However, for our non business related audiences, (who may or may not be clueless at the moment) SEO is the leviathan of the online marketing world. Without going into detail, it is the practice of using keywords to improve one’s site’s visibility in search engine results.
Add in the concept of Local to this strategy, and you get business growth on steroids. Local SEO services are that effective if executed smartly.
There are a host of factors which contribute to the success of local business SEO services; the most important of which have been listed below for you.
Give them a read and you will come to the conclusion: the boundaries between the offline and online world are as thin as ever; to survive, a visible online presence is not a matter of choice anymore – it is a necessity.
1. Exposure
The whole purpose of this practice is to give your business local exposure and its presence known; not just with consumers but other business owners, too. Your website could be described as a second location for your business. It is imperative to be seen in your community.
A study conducted on local searches found out,
“While many local searchers are looking for “name in mind” information, a substantial number don’t have a specific business in mind. Nearly half of all service, restaurant and travel searchers were looking for a business they have never made a purchase from before.’’
An obvious conclusion that comes to mind is people who perform online searches are not reluctant to try out new places.
So, with your online presence made known to people in near vicinity, it could potentially bring in not only new customers, but also business owners looking for joint ventures in your community. Needless to say, and as any business owner knows, link building and future profits go hand in hand.
2. No dawdlers – in other words high conversion rates
Let us put it this way: how many people do you think would look up, “Fumigation services around me” just for fun or to kill time?
At this point if your business, as a fumigation service, has optimized itself locally, your website will have popped up.
This 2017 survey has all the figures we need to confirm our claim.
“Eight out of 10 respondents said a search engine was their top choice among a collection of digital and non-digital sources to look up information for local businesses last year.
Specifically, 80% said they used a search engine to find a local product or service in the week prior to the survey, and 87% used one in the past month.”
3. The ever booming usage of mobile phones and other portable devices: – more lead conversion
Considering the ease of carrying and using a portable device (e.g. mobile phone, tablet, etc) as compared to a clunky laptop or a PC it is no wonder mobile users are spiking up and the latter shrinking.
The popularity and preference of mobile phones and smartwatches over other laptops means more and more local searches performed over these devices than on a PC. People have the ease of looking up on the internet while on the go, when they actually intend to buy. Mobile searches result in purchases. Here’s a research to show you the bridge between mobile phone searches and local SEO:
“50% of consumers who conducted a local search on their smartphone visited a store within a day, and 34% who searched on computer/tablet did the same.
Local searches lead to more purchases than non-local searches. 18% of local searches on smartphone lead to a purchase within a day vs. 7% of non-local searches.”
4. Targeting the right audience, at the right place, at the right time
To put it simply, striking the iron where it is hot.
The beauty of local SEO is you don’t even have to actively pursue your buyer as in putting up a print advertisement in a newspaper.
The days of hit and miss are gone. Your buyer will come to you by themselves, when they need you. No more annoying advertisements buzzing around like flies.
The only work on your part is to optimize your online presence locally and you are good to go.
5. Credibility and reliability
Customer reviews, ratings, and rankings, are all important for one single reason: establishing your online credibility.
“Search engines remained the most popular source that internet users turned to first for business information, cited by 31%, up from 29% the prior year. Just over one-fifth looked to newspapers first, down 4 percentage points, and TVs sat tight, with 22% of internet users choosing these as their first source of business info.”
This is monumental information. It could result in an enormous turnover rate for your business if you know how work it properly.
Picture this: a person looks up local restaurants and finds a horde of them listed in front of him. Common sense states the first page results with the maximum number of stars and positive reviews will be the most credible – exactly how search engine results are ranked.
As we stated earlier, reviews, rating, and ranking are everything, especially for businesses in a competitive industry.
Ask your loyal customers to give you a thumbs up or a review on your page. Willing to go an extra mile? Get in touch with a local blogger to review your business.
The better and positive you are reviewed, the higher your ranking will be – and then of course greater purchases.
These practices mentioned above come under the umbrella of local SEO. With all the advances in technology and smarter algorithms being made each passing day, the veil between the virtual and non virtual world thins every day. To survive this new age, one must embrace the change.
Entry Filed under: SEO. .