Search engine optimization was once thought to be all about ranking in the global sphere. Yet, for small and medium-sized businesses, optimization has come to mean getting local customers. From continuing to fill tables to brick-and-mortar stores hoping to get some footfall, local strategies can literally change the growth path of a business.
But through what mechanisms does local SEO affect your business? In this blog, we explore 3 compelling ways local SEO can help grow businesses by getting them visible, earning trust, and making sales. By the time you finish reading, you will have actionable insights to apply further in your local search endeavor.
What is Local SEO, and Why is It Important?
Local SEO is an area within search engine optimization that makes your business highly visible for location-based search terms. Think “dentist near me” or “best pizza in Chicago.” Rather than attempting to attract a faraway clientele, it targets buyers located within their immediate geographical territory.
Local SEO is an absolute must-have tool for small and medium businesses (SMBs) as it favors relevance and proximity to the customer. Why is this important? Recent studies have observed that 46 percent of the searches on Google are local, and 78 percent of the local searches on mobile result in an offline purchase within 24 hours. These figures provide a glimpse into the power of high local search engine rankings. Failing to show in such searches for customers is equal to losing potential earnings.
Let’s look at the top three advantages local SEO can bring and how it works as a money-making flat.
1. Increased Visibility in Local Search Results
The goal of local SEO is to place the business at the top of local search results. Google returns results that are best suited to the user’s location when someone searches for a product or service nearby. Visibility, particularly on the local pack (the map with three highlighted businesses that appears atop local searches), can bring huge exposure to any business.
Why Does Increased Visibility Matter?
If you think about it, “visibility” is a fairly nebulous term that might give rise to the assumption that getting more eyeballs is all there is to visibility. Most small businesses must attract local clients, and it is generally cheaper to do so than to advertise for global exposure. For instance, using a coffee shop in Austin, Texas, as an example, ranking for “best coffee shops in the US” would hardly be of any value. What you want to do is try to claim searches like “coffee shops near downtown Austin.”
Example in Action:
Likewise, imagine you have a pet grooming salon in a medium-sized city. Someone enters the query “pet groomers near me” on Google. In case your business is listed in the local pack, the potential customer can view your name, address, reviews, and in some cases, a picture of your store. Such a prominent local presence surely increases the chance that a customer calls or visits your salon.
How to Achieve Better Visibility:
- Google My Business (GMB) Optimization: Claim and fully optimize your GMB listing with accurate business information, updated working hours, and high-quality photos.
- Local Keywords: Use keywords that include your city or neighborhood in your website copy (e.g., “affordable pet grooming in Brooklyn”).
- NAP Consistency: Ensure your Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) are consistent across all platforms, including directories and your website.
2. Building Trust and Credibility
The local SEO domains far outweigh getting your particular business brand recognized in the area. Consumers trust local businesses, and local SEO has even forged the way for that trust. Reviews hold much weight in this context, primarily Google reviews or reviews on similar platforms like Yelp.
Leverage the Power of Online Reviews
Think about it: Almost 88% of folks will trust an online review as much as they would a friend’s recommendation. Seeing wonderful reviews on your business instills credibility in the client and may move the client to decide in its favor. This is especially true for service-based industries such as home repair, beauty salons, and restaurants as the customers often lean on other people’s experiences before making selections.
Example of Building Trust Through Reviews:
Think of a fairly new yoga studio in Denver that actively solicits Google reviews from happy customers. Upon typing in “yoga studios in Denver,” the searcher will see not just the location of a business in the local pack but also a star rating and individual reviews. An average rating of 5 stars and reviews like “best instructors around!” is far more enticing than the one with few or no reviews.
Tips for Managing Reviews:
- Encourage Happy Customers to Leave Reviews: Kindly, satisifed customers could give you reviews on your Google My Business profile.
- Respond Thoughtfully: Respond to every review, whether positive or negative. Acknowledge positive feedback and address concerns in negative reviews to show you care about your customers’ experiences.
Build Credibility Through GMB Optimization:
A Google My Business profile is the potential customer’s first brief introduction of a business. If opened, this GMB listing is verified to the advantage of only a truly listed and professional company that has gone for good photos and detailed descriptions. People see you as dependable, but they see you as genuine and legal when all your business details are accurate and well maintained.
3. Driving Foot Traffic and Boosting Sales
By the end of the day, setting local SEO delivers all its power to attract consumers and convert them to walk-through sales. Local SEO goes directly to the consumer who is ready to buy and smoothly creates a path from search to sale-interaction either online or at a physical establishment.
How Does It Drive Customers to Your Door?
Whenever people look for businesses around them, they are most probably at the last stage in their purchase cycle. For example, when someone types “burgers near me,” most likely, they will be interested in choosing a restaurant to visit within a couple of minutes, not merely to place random information queries. Local SEO puts your business in the middle of these high-intent searches that directly lead to purchases or walk-ins.
Real-World Application:
Like a store for clothing, imagine your chain of boutiques. A potential customer searches for “women boutiques near me.” They have discovered you through local SEO, checked your reviews, and decided to see the collection in person. Once inside the boutique, there lies a better chance of making a purchase than just through online catalog browsing.
How to Drive Foot Traffic with Local SEO:
- Add Location Pages: Create pages on your website dedicated to each of your physical locations, complete with operating hours, photos, and directions.
- Use Social Proof: Highlight testimonials and reviews directly on your website to encourage more people to visit.
- Mobile Optimization: Optimize your website for mobile devices to ensure a seamless experience for users searching on the go.
The Bottom Line
Local SEO functions on behalf of any business to connect with the community, foster trust, and generate revenue. It acts as a launching pad for business growth by increasing local visibility, establishing that credibility through reviews, and drawing in the crowd. Since it ties customers with high intent, it is the most affordable marketing channel for small and medium-sized businesses.
Now is the time to put money into local Search Engine Optimization (SEO): fill out your Google My Business profile completely, solicit reviews, and ensure consistency of your information across all other platforms. Should you execute these wisely, from climbing local search rankings, your company will have more customers to carry through their doors and long-term gains with it.
Ready to move with local SEO? Start with evaluating your Google My Business profile and identifying opportunities to improve-it may surprise you just how far even a small change can go.
