The Impact Of Local SEO On Businesses
While search engine optimisation (SEO) helps your business appear for competitive search terms specific to your business, local SEO takes this one step further by also taking location into consideration.
If you’re new to local SEO or you’re wondering if it’s beneficial for your business (it normally is), this article will explain exactly what local SEO is, the impact it can have on your business, and how we can help you optimise for local searches.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO involves optimising your business's online presence to make it more visible for unpaid local search results on Google Search, Google Maps and other search engines.
Although there are various ways to optimise your business for local searches, simply matching the user's search query of ‘the best marketing agency near me’ isn't enough. Google uses factors like relevance, distance and the business's reputation and trust when showing local results, so it’s important to use various local SEO strategies to appear prominently.
The Importance of Local SEO
Local SEO is important for any business, particularly service-based industries, start-ups, small, and multi-location businesses.
While it’s expected that terms for your business services may be highly saturated and competitive to organically rank for, with effective local SEO, small businesses can ensure their business is the first one a customer sees when searching for the business's services or products in the local area.
Increased Visibility
With 46% of Google searches having local intent, it’s even more important to ensure your business is as visible online as possible. Through organic SEO, local SEO and paid ads, your business has a competitive advantage to increase search engine visibility by appearing for keywords, local searches and targeted audience marketing.
Targeted Audience
While paid ads help your business get in front of specific audience segments that you select, local SEO focuses on attracting an audience of people in the local area. This ensures that you get high-intent leads who are more likely to be interested in the services your business provides, without relying on costly advertising campaigns.
Increased Foot Traffic
According to Google, over ¾ of users who search for ‘near me’ terms will visit the business within 24 hours, so it really shows just how important local SEO is.
If you’re not making the most of local SEO, you could be missing out on valuable sales because people aren’t aware of your business in the local area. This is particularly important in locations with a lot of tourism, as you're relying on new potential customers finding your business naturally, instead of promoting your business online to high-intent customers who are actively looking for a business like yours.
Enhanced Trust
Google My Business is a great way to build trust, with Google reviews clearly displayed. Active engagement with customers online, either by responding to reviews or regularly posting, shows you value your customers, which builds trust and credibility with potential customers. As previously mentioned, Google uses trust as a ranking factor for organic and local search results, so it’s important to make the most of.
Competitive Advantage
Much like the previous point, optimising your Google Business Profile (GBP) also helps your business appear prominently in the search results. If your profile matches the searcher's query, your business will gain a competitive advantage over businesses that haven’t optimised their GBP by appearing prominently for local search terms.
Optimised For Mobiles
Google is mobile first, meaning that your creatives and website design should be created with mobile users at the forefront, and this doesn’t stop with local SEO. With the majority of people using their smartphones to help them shop locally, it’s important that you make the most of local SEO and ensure that your site is optimised for mobile devices.
With well-optimised local SEO strategies, your business has a much better chance of being discovered or considered when mobile users want quick, local solutions. Whether they’re on a road trip looking for ‘petrol station near me’ or ‘local coffee shop’ for a quick coffee break in an unfamiliar area, local SEO can make the difference.
Optimise Your Site For Local SEO
As a full-service agency, Disruptive (also known as Disr.) will setup and update your Google Business Profile, respond to customer reviews promptly, ensure your business name, address and phone number (NAP) are up to date, submit your business to local directories and optimise your content for local keywords like ‘best digital agency in Stoke-on-Trent.’
Whether you’re a small business with a single storefront or an established business that doesn’t utilise local SEO, Disr. can help you get started. Take a look at our SEO services or get in touch with one of our specialists for more information - we’re always on hand to help.
