Did you know that 72% of consumers who conduct a local Google search visit a store within five miles of their location?
Everyone who lives in (or is visiting) your area should be seen as a potential customer and the great news is that nowadays, you don’t have to wait for them to run into your store or watch one of your ads on TV.
Thanks to local SEO, you can reach this audience online and introduce your business to them when they are already in your location.
Sounds perfect, right?
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about local SEO!
What Is Local SEO?
Local SEO is a specific type of search engine optimization, which targets local communities, helping businesses to rank higher in local search results.
This type of SEO allows businesses to promote their products or services in real-time, to customers who are in their area and are looking up keywords they’re optimizing for.
In other words, every time you use search terms like “pizza restaurant near me” or “furniture shop in [your location]”, the businesses that pop up first are the ones investing in local SEO.
What Are the Benefits of Local SEO?
Nowadays, it’s easy for businesses to get clients all around the world, no matter where they are based.
Thanks to social media, email marketing, and countless other digital marketing strategies, geographical limitations have become a thing of the past.
For this reason, many businesses strive to go international and, in the process, forget about their local communities.
However, using local SEO can lead to many benefits:
- You’ll become a fierce(r) competitor to your neighboring businesses
- You can get more local reviews and boost your SEO ranking
- You can build a local community of loyal customers
- You can end up in Google’s 3-pack
- You’re more likely to pop up in local business directories
- You can more easily boost web traffic
These benefits alone will probably convince any business owner about the power of SEO, but if you’re still not 100% sold, click for more about this marketing strategy.
7 Tips for Getting Started With Local SEO
Ready to start investing in local SEO?
Here are our top seven tips for beginners:
- Make sure your Google My Business profile is complete and updated
- Create content based on local stories or events
- Add location pages to your website (and make sure to include local keywords)
- Optimize your website for mobile
- Don’t be afraid to ask happy customers for Google reviews
- Make sure your address is consistent across your digital presence
- Build a local link-building strategy
Take Your Brick-and-Mortar Business to the Next Level
Your local community is an incredibly valuable asset to the growth of your business.
Now that you know what local SEO is and how you can get started with it, you’ll be able to reach this community and grow your customer base even further!
Did you enjoy reading this article? Keep exploring our website and learn more about digital marketing.
