You must have probably heard why SEO is important for any business. No other digital marketing service could match the benefit of ranking number one in the search engine. It is the website which receives high traffic and consequently a better conversion rate.
Since the popularity of SEO surged and more and more businesses are registering their business online. This developed a local niche of businesses among the cities and the need for local SEO became prevalent. It is of no use if a local business in India is ranking top in organic search results of Canada.
This article breaks down why local SEO is important in the internet marketing world and how it can benefit your business.
#1 Local Customers Drive targeted traffic to your business
Since local SEO focuses on driving targeted traffic to your website, the consumers visiting your store would include people from your local neighborhood communities. This underlines the fact conversion rate would be high. More than 50% of the people search Google for knowing the address or information about a local business.
For local businesses, the consumers living in a close geographical area is a profitable database. Once they become a repeat customer you could understand their behavior inside out and suggest the products they would like to buy. Having a trusted local business is also beneficial for the customers. As they would not need to set aside a considerable amount of time to shop at the mall.
#2 Google Loves Local Businesses
Google loves local businesses and has developed various free tools for them to use. Tools like Google Analytics and Google search console helps small scale business to measure their performance. It is because large conglomerates have huge marketing business and they can afford to invest money to hold a grip on the market. Small scale businesses lag behind in these criteria.
Google understands this dilemma and came up with various ways to help local businesses set their information online. Many people search Google for their search query and hence Google wants to provide the relevant results.
#3 Gaining Edge over Competitors
Name any product/service in business and you will definitely find your competition. It is impossible for a business to receive a 100% monopoly in business. Local SEO could help you combat this competition. Consumers visit the shop which easily provides the information online. This way you can follow the best SEO practices and leverage search engine to beat your customers online.
Instead of reaching out to the whole nation like big companies, local SEO helps you focus your brand value within a specified community. If you are not leveraging local SEO, your competitor might, so always be on the lookout.
#4 SEO opportunity is free
Unlike paid advertising, SEO is completely free. Google lets a business list their information for free on Google My Business. Similar tools are available on yahoo, bing and other search engines. There are hundreds of business directories and forums through which you can promote your business. Content is a huge part of this online journey,
#5 Reviews Help you gain brand authority
As more people visit your website through local search, there are chances that they may post a positive review on Google listing. Word-of-mouth publicity is the best way to gain customer attention. Online reviews are like cousins of word-of-mouth. Getting positive reviews from your customers will attract more visitors to your website and consequently more conversions.
By mentioning the correct postal address and phone number you are enticing your customers to take action based on their positive reviews.
#6 Capturing the Attention of the Millennial Generation
Most of the millennial generation today gather their information online. Unlike older generation who prefers newspapers. More and more people are turning towards the internet to gain local information. Your business can really thrive if you are able to capture this attention successfully,
You could also leverage social media to track your customer journey and understand their behavior.
#7 Great Return on Investment
Unlike newspaper, TV news and other advertising mediums, SEO and other digital properties let you measure your performance and act accordingly. Local SEO strategies could be used as a chief content strategy and move your business profitability forward. The brand loyalty attained by a local brand has a longer span since they are not competing with many competitors. You doing only few things differently could trigger a reaction in your local circle.
It is not easy for customers to change their brand loyalty once they get accustomed to a product/service. You should create a local niche for your business by using relevant keywords.
#8 Building relationship with the customers
A customer within your geography who is satisfied with your product/service will remain loyal to you for a long period of time. You can personalize your content and your SEO tactics based on your most favorable customer behavior. In these days of hyper-connectivity, people have many options to choose from, local SEO will help your customer stay hooked to your product. When you have a bunch of loyal customers you can use this as an advantage to try something new with your business. A venture which could add value to both your customer and your business.
Conclusion
Now that you know how local SEO could help your business, you could better manage it to meet the expectations of your customer. Adding an SEO service company would really boost the presence in your niche. Adding an SEO agency will not only boost your local SEO rankings but also improve the organic traffic to your website.
There is no downside to using local SEO. If done right, SEO has the ability to provide results for a longer period of time. Most of the consumers today begin their buyer’s journey on search engines. You being there to grab their attention will surely help your business. Local SEO helps you build trust in the customer’s eyes. The more easily they are able to contact you the more trust you will gain. This setup a long-term bond between you and your customer for a mutually beneficial relationship.
