Benefits of Local SEO for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
Search Engine Optimization plays a critical role in the online success of small and medium-sized businesses. As a small business owner, if you are investing time and money in online marketing, you’d already be aware of the importance of SEO.
Today, we are going to tell you about something even better that can take amplify your SEO efforts and take your small or medium-sized business to the next level. The name of the magic wand is — Local SEO. If done right, local SEO can be a game-changer for your business. It not only helps you build a strong online presence but also brings more qualified and relevant leads to your website.
But what exactly is local SEO? And how can it boost the growth of your small business? Read this piece till the end to learn everything about it and more!
What exactly is local SEO?
Simply put, local SEO is a form of SEO that helps small and medium businesses to grow and gain more visibility in the digital landscape. It is also known as Map SEO. Local SEO is a comparatively newer branch of SEO that is receiving tremendous popularity right now.
Research suggests that 97% of all online searches are for looking up local businesses, and 88% of people searching for local businesses usually visit the store or make a phone call within 24 hours. With local SEO, you can optimize your website to target the audience in your region effectively.
For example, suppose you own a bakery that deals in vegan products. So, when someone in your locality searches terms like “bakery near me” or “vegan bakery near me,” local SEO will help your website appear on the first page of the search engine’s results. The better you will optimize your website for local SEO, the higher your website will rank.
4 major benefits of local SEO for small and medium-sized businesses
Now that we have talked about the basics, let’s understand the four key benefits of local SEO for small and medium-sized businesses.
1. Local SEO helps you enhance your online visibility
As a small or medium-sized business owner, your primary goal should be to make the people in your region aware of your business. With the help of local SEO, you can enhance your visibility and boost your website traffic.
A well-constructed local SEO strategy helps you put your business in front of your local target audience. So, when the people near your area notice your business, the chances of them vising your store and making a purchase increase tenfold.
2. It can help you improve your conversions
Reports suggest that almost 28% of local searches result in sales. So, not implementing local SEO in your online marketing strategy can be a huge loss for your business.
By making your business and your exceptional products visible to the local audience, you can increase both online and foot traffic. Such a rise in traffic will ultimately lead to an increase in your sales.
3. Local SEO reduces advertising costs
As a small business owner, incurring heavy costs on online advertising can often feel like a burden, especially when you are not getting desired results. This is where local SEO comes into the picture.
By implementing some powerful local SEO tactics and accordingly optimizing your websites, you can help your business grow organically. Leveraging local SEO goes a long way in helping you reduce your advertising costs.
4. Improve your online reputation with local reviews
Most people read online reviews before vising a place or buying a product. As per Brightlocal, 87% of local consumers trust online reviews and ratings. So, when you have a small business, positive local reviews and ratings can do wonders for you!
If you offer something useful and unique, most consumers will likely love to give their honest opinions online. However, they won’t be able to do so if your local business is not listed on Google or it isn’t optimized with local SEO.
Local SEO enables you to collect more reviews and ratings. As a result, when other people see a good number of positive reviews about you, it will naturally enhance their trust. They will be more interested in buying your products and services.
Conclusion
Local SEO offers you an excellent way to improve your online marketing strategies cost-effectively. It increases your chances of improving the foot traffic in your store and attaining high-quality prospects who will turn into paying customers.
With the ever-increasing competition in the digital space, small and medium-sized businesses that won’t make the most of local SEO and other similar techniques will struggle to stay relevant in the future.
Originally published at https://www.redwoodcreative.com on August 18, 2022.
