If you own a small business and you are already thinking of expanding in the digital world, you may be well aware of the advantages SEO holds. But it’s also turned into a competitive environment as more and more companies are directing resources for online marketing efforts.
If you want to drive more sales to your store, then a powerful local SEO strategy for your small business holds great potential. It can be leveraged to raise awareness, generate leads, and increase sales in the area you operate.
The Importance Of Local SEO For Your Small Business
If you’re still not convinced and you’d rather stick to your current marketing efforts, maybe the benefits listed below will persuade you to give local SEO a try.
Just to highlight the importance of local searches optimization, we have gathered a few stats that favor it:
- 97% of online searches come from users trying to find a local business
- 88% of users are inclined to give a call or pay a visit in the next 24 hours after searching a business online
- 58% of American users have opted for voice search to learn more about a local business
SEO is constantly adapting and helping small businesses to market specifically to one local area. Your target audience is made of prospects who are near your small business and search for services that your business provides.
The Advantages of A Successful Local SEO Strategy for Your Small Business
With that in mind, let’s discuss some of the advantages that a successful local SEO strategy brings to a small business.
- Local SEO Attracts More Prospects With Lower Costs
Local SEO holds much potential for your small business because of the public it draws, more specifically, the potential customers who are near your store and who are currently searching for your business services. You have great chances of turning this audience into loyal buyers.
It can be daunting and overwhelming to optimize your business website for local searches, but the costs are lower. You are making your business much more visible to local audiences, who are ready to make a purchase if you succeed in ranking higher in local searches.
- Local SEO Increases Your Online Visibility
Higher conversion rates are the main goal, but raising awareness among users in your area is also necessary. Think about all the times that you’ve searched for a place to eat late at night, a hardware store open on the weekends or a dental clinic in your neighborhood for emergencies. Now multiply that with the audience of your area.
Whenever a user looks for the kind of services you provide, you are placing your business name and credentials in front of their eyes, especially if you rank at the top. Even if they don’t opt for your services or products right away, they will be aware of your brand and might go with your business in the future.
- Local SEO Reaches More Consumers From Other Mediums
There are many alternatives to approach your local audiences, besides Google, and it is one of the great benefits of local SEO. There are emerging marketing platforms for local businesses. Sites like Yellowpages, apps like TripAdvisor, and Apple Maps are becoming prevalent in local SEO strategies.
Yelp, Waze, and other platforms also enable you to design ads and improve listings to generate more leads and awareness. It provides prospects with the ability to message you directly or to make an appointment through a booking form, check a menu, or reach your online store.
- Local SEO Generates More Leads and Sales
When implementing all the above, you will immediately notice the potential of drawing prospects to your small business. This will happen since the customers you can reach are already interested, and because your brand gets in front of so many potential buyers.
This study discovered that the majority of online users check only the first page of search results. To find out how many visits you receive from organic and local searches, you can examine your website’s performance in Google Analytics. This method helps you determine your conversion rate.
You can also find out, approximately, how much a conversion is worth for your business. The amount is influenced by the product or service you provide. This type of data can help you anticipate the amount of traffic, conversions, and sales you can reach when you rank higher in local search results.
- Local SEO Gives a Competitive Edge
The low amount of competition in the online environment is influenced by the emerging technologies that drive local SEO. Small businesses are still reluctant when it comes to apps like Google Maps, Waze, or Yelp. And features like online reviews and voice search are relatively new and they are not broadly employed by local businesses.
Trends in digital marketing are constantly adapting. Today, besides giving directions, Google Maps also provides users with plenty of information and the ability to reach out or engage with a business. The same goes for Yelp, Waze, and the other platforms mentioned above.
Voice search is gaining track thanks to the increasing popularity of smart devices like Amazon Echo or Google Home. Users rely on them and opt for voice search when using their smartphones for information like the operating hours of the nearest store or which restaurant is still open for dinner.
Some of your competitors have not realized the potential these technologies hold. Entering the local SEO game before them will give your small business a competitive edge.
- Local SEO Improves Your Authority and Trustworthiness
One of the main approaches in a successful local SEO campaign is to produce good quality and content that is valuable for the local community. This type of content attracts the local audience and shows search engines what your geographic focus is, which will rank you higher in the searches from your area.
Local content also establishes your business as trustworthy and authoritative to the consumers in your area. When more users find your website and find value in your content, most of them will consider you as an authoritative source in that niche.
Another strategy for local SEO is to encourage online reviews. Owning a good amount of positive reviews and a good average review score are some of the main local ranking factors. The reason behind this is that reviews influence purchases, as 97% of consumers questioned stated this.
Prospects are more inclined to choose your small business over your competitors if you have better reviews. This approach is another method to gain the trust of potential customers that find out about your business through a local search.
- Local SEO Nurtures a Loyal Following
Social media platforms are not just for local events, news, and trends. They also another element of local SEO that you can use to engage with your audience. If done well, you can create a loyal following.
Encourage users to ask questions about your business, leave comments or write reviews. This engagement level can lead to an entire local online community, which can be priceless for your future marketing efforts.
Are You Ready to Get Some Help with the Local SEO Strategy for Your Small Business?
Local SEO can become a great marketing tool for small businesses. It empowers them to not only be competitive in their field but to be ahead of their competition.
Local SEO generates more online visibility, more leads and sales, a higher level of engagement with prospects, more trust and authority, and so on. Besides, local SEO is still growing at a fast pace, and its reach will only increase.
If you want to know what you can do to improve the local SEO for your small business, reach out to us! We’d love to help you reap the benefits of a successful local SEO strategy.
