Any small or big business can grow and attract more customers to their outlet by using a well planned local SEO steps. In this blog I will be explaining what Local SEO is and why is it so important.

What is local SEO ?

Local Search Engine Optimisation is a process that helps local business have a visibility on google search and have a good google ranking.

This will help local potential customer easily connect to your business who is searching for the product or services you are providing.

Eg. Best coffee near me or car accessories near me

The visibility will easily help them connect you and convert it into sales.

What are the Difference between SEO and Local SEO ?

A SEO is a process of optimizing your website on google and be found in all the search engines around the world

A Local SEO targets on the local area near your business place.

Understanding the difference between these two will really help business owners in organizing a well planned strategy on these search engines.

What are Local SERPs ?

The first and foremost goal of every business is the have a good website traffic and increase foot fall to their store or outlets.

To achieve these it’s very important for you to be visible in the Local Pack section of google search. When someone browses a local service or product google shows three local businesses that might answer their query.

The Local 3-Pack appears in the #1 spot 93% of the time when a local search is performed – and 46% of all searches on Google are of this nature.    

Here you see lot of organic results like the address, photos, business hours, reviews and ratings.

These don’t come from our websites. All these are picked up by the search engine from google my business profile page.

Why listing on Google My Business so important ?

When potential customer searches on google with your brand name, this means they know the service or product you provide. The reason of this search is to visit your outlet or call you. Hence a well optimized business page makes the job easier. The search result will tell the customer your opening and closing timings, share contact numbers. You might have seen the listing; on the right will be the search results.   

Google My Business also plays a major role in Local SEO, it helps your business listing appear in local search result for search related to your product or services, Even broad queries with large search volumes display local results in Local Pack section, and this is something business owners can capitalize on.

What are citations ?

A citation is where you business NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) appears in the search result online, may it be on directory or a business website listing.

If you are not found in these listing, you might end up losing your customer to your competitors.  

Citations are of two types:

Structured Citations are found under business listings, these are data shared by the business owners when they claim their business listings.

Unstructured Citations are the result mostly taken from social media mentions and online press releases by media agencies. This data are generally in an unstructured way. 

Getting citations for your local business not only important , it’s widely known as ‘table stakes’ in Local SEO, which means ‘if you don’t get citations, you are not in the competition of local business.

Citation should be the important part of your Local SEO strategy, by building citations in most popular websites connected to your business, it is also important to keep them updated.

Top 5 Reasons How Local SEO Services Can Help You Attract New Customers

Local customers are moving to the internet to find local businesses – on desktop and mobile.

The age of the printed phone book is over (Yellow Page has stopped printing since January 2019 and gone ahead in creating a digital directory), as more and more people are turning to the internet to find information about local businesses.

Here are some statistics:

• 96% of PC owners conduct local searches
• 46% of all Google searches are local
• 64% of local customers use search engines and directories as their main way to find local businesses
• 50% of local mobile searchers look for business information (like a company’s address or phone number)
• A whopping 78% of local mobile searches result in an offline purchase

(Sources: Searchengineland.com and Business2community.com)

Local search marketing is highly targeted and timely

The first reason people do local searches is to find a local business. The second common reason is to find a product or service. Most of the time they are looking for a specific business’ name, but many who search don’t have a specific business in mind when they begin their search online.

Having a Local SEO checklist & strategizing it with Local SEO marketing can keep your business ahead in the competition and be increase visibility on the top of the Local search result. It’s the right time to connect or be found when a potential customer is searching for a service or product similar to yours.  

Local search has the highest conversion rate

When you want to find any product or service, the top list on the search page is dominated by the local directories. This means 60% of the conversion happens on these pages. So a well structures business listing on multiple online directories will surely help increase your visibility and increase your online sales.  

Mobile usage is increasing

The use of Mobile phone and tablets is increasing in a very fast phase. Its handy to use these gadgets to browse the internet on the moved. As per the latest research data of 2020, 50.48% of traffic is mobile and 46.51% is desktop. Since Local SEO covers both you are always connected to your potential customer who are looking for the product or service similar to yours.

ROI is great from Local SEO as compared to traditional advertising.

The Return on investment is high from the Local SEO as compared to traditional advertisements like Newspapers, Hoardings flyers etc.  In Local SEO advertisement, you are connecting to your potential customer only when they are looking for your product and services

Only 44% of businesses have claimed their Google My Business listing

As per google only 44% businesses have claimed their listing on Google My Business. This free listing platform is open for listing of their business mostly from any segment. Listing you business here helps you increase your product and service visibility to the potential customers searching for it and capitalist it easily.  

(Source: Local Marketing Institute)

Local customers mostly depend on the internet to find your business

Today it’s the generation of Internet. The technology is changing so quickly so is the speed of the internet. Potential customers are mostly dependent on internet to find information about the product and services they need. If you are not found in the local search you are missing a large chunk of business. A well organised Local SEO strategy helps you visibility to your existing and new customers.    

More links on SEO:

friskyfunnel.com//off-page-seo/

akshayvasudevan.com

Why use Digital Nithin for Local SEO ?

After 15+ years of corporate exposure, I did my Digital Marketing internship under the mentor-ship of Digital Deepak from Pixel Track, Bangalore. I started my personal Digital Marketing Consultancy from June 2020. Since then, I have provided Local SEO tips to couple of local businesses and have helped them strategise their Local SEO. As a result it has improved their local search page visibility and helped in increased their online business. It has also increased the footfall to their outlets.