What Is Local SEO? And How Will It Benefit Your Business?
Any small company or business can grow their business online by using SEO to bring them customers, and traffic. But knowing which SEO techniques to use and where to find them may be the tricky part for most people. Because without research and knowing where to go, a lot of companies fall through and either hire a professional to get it done for them, or don’t even use SEO on their website.
Is that smart? Not really, since Google needs keywords in order to have your business thrive. Without SEO optimization, it will be much harder to be seen on Google or any search engine.
But What Is Local SEO?
According to BrightLocal, “Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is an incredibly effective way to market your local business online. It helps businesses promote their products and services to local customers at the exact time they’re looking for them online. This is achieved through a variety of methods, some of which differ greatly from what’s practiced in standard SEO, and some of which are far easier to manage using a local SEO tool."
One of the most efficient ways to grow your business online is through SEO. If you are not using SEO, then you should consider using it because your site's traffic may grow within a month, increasing sales and serving more happy people that never would have found your site otherwise. Knowing which SEO techniques to use for your site and niche could help drive traffic for not only this week or even this year; it could drive traffic for years to come.
Do Some Research
Go on Google and search a random topic. If you look at the page in front of you, you should already notice a couple of things. The first three searches are ads, the next boxes may be a map with the three most viewed places that are very popular. But if you are not a local and not interested in that, then scroll down to the nest three searches.
Those three searches are ranking the best in SEO terms, as they landed on the first page and towards the top of Google. It is so important to be on the first page of Google. More than half people do not go past the first page of results, which means that if you do not make it to the first page, then your site will not be seen by Google users.
Who Can Benefit from Local SEO Optimization?
Anyone with a physical business location, as doctors, lawyers, plumbers, restaurants, and much more. Ranking high means that when someone searches for your niche, your business pops up and so does your address, open times, and your phone number. This means that you are guaranteed a call from a potential customer wanting to come in to your office or needing assistance.
That is why it’s very important for you to rank high in Google so your local business succeeds. Having your website be mobile-friendly and working on every device will ultimately help you as well. Nowadays people are on the go and most of the searches are from people in the car headed to your office.
Who Would Not Benefit from Local SEO Optimization?
Anyone that has an online business or is not willing to share their business address with search engines. According to Search Engine Journal, “Businesses like online only ecommerce shops, local authors, businesses that don’t want to share their local information, and private online sellers who want to keep their information private are likely not great candidates for local SEO services.”
These businesses do benefit from SEO, just not locally. Their SEO stays online and does change with the algorithm. But local SEO does not usually change as it’s centralized to being local in your area. So, local SEO is much better if you ranked at the top of the search engine results because most likely you won’t be pushed to the bottom if you don’t change your keywords.
Don’t Just Research on Google, Research Everywhere
According to Joshua Hardwick from Ahrefs, Craigslist may be a golden ticket not a lot of people are using or have thought of. He said “Craigslist can be a goldmine when it comes to finding local keyword ideas. Just go to their services section, select your location and enter a keyword.”
Finding local SEO from places such as Facebook, Craigslist, etc., can help you find the best keywords to use so people can find your business locally. Using these tips and searches will hopefully get you a decent amount of traffic and many more clients in no time. Sticking to your niche and finding the best outlets for you and your business will help you gain more business than ever before.
