What is Local SEO?

If you are a business owner that has a physical location or performs services in a particular geographic area, local SEO is what you need to boost your business and reach more potential customers. 

While similar to traditional SEO, local search engine optimization (SEO) is a digital marketing approach that focuses on increasing your business’ visibility in your local geographic area. Millions of google searches connect customers and local businesses occur daily. Because of this, being discoverable and using techniques to rank higher in the search engine is more important than ever. 

Local SEO Approach

The key to local SEO is intentionally implementing location-specific content into your website and Google Business Profile. Targeting local keywords via blogs, location specific website copy, backlinks from other local websites, and earning reviews on local review sites can all increase your ranking and presence in the google search engine.  

Importance of Local SEO

You could have the best business and/or website in the world, but if people searching for your type of products or services in the area do not see your business in a google search, then those things don’t matter. We are in an age where having a digital presence is vital for business growth and marketing. In order to increase your customer base and in-store traffic, local SEO marketing efforts are a must. 

Benefits of Local SEO

Simply put, local SEO helps you reach your target audience and improve your ranking position in the search engine, connecting with and attracting new customers. However, it is important to discuss all the main benefits to fully understand how the use of local SEO marketing approach will boost your business’ visibility in the search engine. 

First, implementing local SEO strategies can increase your search engine ranking. While traditional SEO approaches increase your rank and site traffic over all, local SEO increases your visibility in your local geographic range where your customers are more likely to reside. Having a high position local search query puts you at the top of the list google returns when your particular services are searched, making your business among the most desirable to viewers. This is particularly true when reviews and ratings from previous customers are involved, because often, positive reviews play a role in search engine rankings. 

Local SEO tactics help to increase relevant traffic to your site and can result in higher conversion rates. By leveraging local keywords on your website, your business is more likely to be discovered by people searching for your type of products or services. When you have these relevant site visitors, more of these visitors are likely to become customers, meaning higher conversion rates. 

Another benefit of local SEO is that it can make you more competitive against similar businesses in your area. Being at the top during a google search makes your site (or business information) one of the first people choose to view when trying to decide which business to go with. Additionally, positive reviews or ratings from local customers weigh heavily on customer decision making and can put you ahead of the game. 

There are valuable long-term benefits of local SEO. Investing in and maintaining efforts in this marketing strategy can have a long-lasting effect on your local search engine rankings. It can also aid in building a community between you and your local customers. Creating a strong online presence builds your local customer base. This is vital for the growth of businesses, and essential for those with a physical store location or particular geographic region.