Why Local SEO is Important for Your Business
There are few things more frustrating than searching for a business or service only to end up with results that you need a plane or a boat to get to. So, what is more frustrating? Spending time and effort on SEO for your business only to find out that the dramatically increased traffic to your site is from people thousands of miles away who will never walk through your doors. And that’s the importance of local SEO. While standard SEO is all about driving traffic to your site, driving the right traffic to your site is key for a business with a physical location or that serves a specific geographic location. Effective local SEO strategy can help boost local online and in-person traffic to your business, leading to increased sales and brand loyalty.
How Is Local SEO Strategy Different?
Organic SEO is laser-focused on driving online traffic to your website primarily based on keywords the searcher is using. The overall goal is to ensure your website is high up Search Engine Ranking Pages (SERPS) for specific words. And organic search is primarily focused towards information and research while local SEO targets an audience that has done research and is looking to act. Local SEO, by definition, incorporates the element of. For many businesses who have a brick-and-mortar locations or geographically defined service areas, the only traffic that matters is in or near that geographic area. That’s why local SEO has a key focus in different areas including:
- Hyperfocus on smartphone results—the vast majority of people looking for a business near them do so on their phone. And people searching on phones are more likely to be ready to make purchases.
- Google My Business—all local map-based results in Google are based on Google My Business. If you aren’t listed, you won’t show up.
- Localized content and metadata on your website can improve your visibility to people conducting “near me” searches.
- Local citations anything that directly mentions your business name, address, phone number) are key to local SEO strategy.
And that’s just the beginning!
Globe Runner has experts who understand the importance of local SEO and the best strategies. They’ve helped customers from industries as far ranging as lawyers to stoneworks increase traffic and sales. Contact Globe Runner today and find out how local SEO can be rocket fuel for your business!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is local SEO still relevant?
Almost half of all Google searches are local searches and half of all “near me” searches result in someone actually visiting a store. Consumers are looking for convenience, and if your business hasn’t optimized its local SEO strategy, you run the risk of missing out on opportunity!
Who should use local SEO?
Not every business needs a local SEO strategy. But who does? Well . . . any business that has a physical location that customers can visit and/or serves a specific geographic location can benefit from local SEO. Local customers are loyal customers and effective SEO for local businesses can build brand loyalty and increase foot traffic and sales!
What kind of businesses can use local SEO?
What kind of businesses can use local SEO? Any business that wants to drive local traffic to a physical location or increase sales to a specific geographic location can use local SEO. Whether you’re a restaurant, bookstore, or another merchant, or you provide services for a specific city or community, Local SEO will help potential customers find you. From bookkeepers to beekeepers, if your location or service area can be specified on a map, then local SEO is for you!
What percentage of Google searches are local?
Local SEO strategy is complex and different from organic SEO. There are some easy first steps you can do like getting listed on Google My Business, making sure your “NAP” (name, address, phone number) is up to date, and spending some time ensuring you’re listed on various local directories in your region. But there are also numerous on- and off0page ways to improve your local ranking, as well as technical SEO strategies to boost local visibility. If you’re serious about increasing local traffic and sales for your business, it can help to work with a professional SEO agency that specializes in local SEO, like Glob