In this day and age of digital marketing, you’ve probably heard of SEO or search engine optimization. Nevertheless, you might be curious about what it is and how it might benefit your company’s development?
Simply said, SEO efforts aim to boost a website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) so that it receives the most traffic possible. In other words, an SEO-optimized website has a better chance of coming up in the top results when users search for a specific topic (also known as a keyword).
We’ll take a closer look at local SEO for small businesses such as yours in this article, and we’ll explain why it’s a good idea for you.
What Is Local SEO?
Local SEO, also known as Map SEO, is a type of SEO that has gained popularity in recent years. It leverages links and keywords to improve your Google Business Profile (GBP), formerly known as Google My Business or GMB profile.
Within local SEO, there are numerous strategies involved, including:
- Ensuring your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) are up to date, accurate and consistent across all directories.
- Geotagging images or ensuring that your images have metadata that has the correct geographical information about where the photo was taken
- Link-building and other engagements through your GBP profile
Local SEO optimization allows your small business to create strong map visibility and harness this opportunity. But don’t take my word for it, here are five stats that prove the importance of local SEO:
- 97% of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else. (Source: SEO Tribunal)
- 61% of mobile searchers are more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile-friendly site. (Source: HubSpot Marketing Statistics)
- 92% of searchers will pick businesses on the first page of local search results. (Source: SEO Expert)
- 4 in 5 consumers use search engines to find local information. (Source: Think with Google)
- 86% of people rely on Google Maps to find the location of a business (Source: Backlinko).
- Businesses ranking in the Local 3-Pack enjoyed at least 100 percent more clicks (PDF Source: MomentFeed).
12 Key Benefits of Local SEO for Small Business
The following are some of the most important benefits of enhancing your small business’s local SEO.
1. Reach More Clients
Marketing your business is at the core of SEO. As a result, the most significant advantage of doing it well is gaining more clients. The primary purpose of SEO is to boost your business ranking in the search results. This attracts more visitors to your online business profile, who can be converted to clients.
2. Find Clients Searching For Your Services
People are almost certainly looking for the goods or services that you provide. Local SEO assists you in connecting with these prospective clients who are in the discovery stage.
When done correctly, SEO raises your website’s ranking and places your business in front of the right clients, resulting in increased sales.
3. Increase Traffic
SEO is primarily concerned with increasing traffic to your online profile or website. While not every traffic will not convert to sales, it is reasonable to say that the more, the merrier. More people visiting your website means more chances of people employing your services. Additionally, increasing traffic organically spreads the word about your business.
4. Reach Your Target Audience Better
Because SEO employs relevant keywords to help market your business, you have a better chance of reaching your target audience. This essentially means that searchers looking for a specific product or service will come across your small business and be directed to your site.
5. Improve Conversion Rates
Local SEO for small businesses is vital to increasing conversion rates. This is primarily because SEO attracts relevant visitors that are already interested in your services. As a result, the chance for sales grows, resulting in a higher conversion rate.
6. Bypass Your Competition
Consider two companies that both perform the same services in the same area. However, one has a well-optimized local SEO presence, and the other relies solely on traditional marketing efforts. Which do you believe clients will gravitate toward in this age of digital connectivity?
Proper SEO efforts enable your service area business to gain a long-term competitive edge, propelling it well ahead of the competition.
7. Create Overall Brand Awareness
People searching for particular services with keywords will most likely find your business near the top of SERPs. The more they see your business in the results, the more they will be aware of your brand. This means they are more likely to visit your website or search for you specifically in the future.
8. Create a User-Friendly Website
For most search engines such as Google, Bing, and Duck Duck Go, improved SEO involves a better client experience on your website. For example, Google is very particular about the kind of information available on a website to be ranked higher in its searches. This means that a user-friendly website that contains all of the necessary information for SEO rankings will naturally rank higher on the SERPs.
Finally, a user-friendly interface draws in more clients, increasing your profitability.
9. Reduce Cost Per Acquisition
A major advantage of SEO is that it is low cost compared to other marketing efforts like advertising. It is mostly free if you can do it yourself. However, if you are not comfortable with your website coding skills and algorithms, your best bet is to hire a small business SEO company to help you out. This is a worthwhile investment towards building your brand.
10. Achieve Long-Lasting Rankings
Unlike traditional marketing, where advertisements have a limited influence, SEO results are long-lasting. While you must keep all of your information up to date to maximize your local SEO, once you rank in the SERPs, you will likely stay there for a long time.
Though it is not always guaranteed, you will attain long-term search engine rankings if you maintain your efforts.
11. Continuous Business Growth
Local SEO efforts are always focused on increasing traffic while improving search engine results. As a result, sales and marketing leads improve. Improved sales attract more interested clients, resulting in a self-sustaining business growth cycle.
So, if you want to expand your small business, investing time and resources in local SEO measures is a critical success factor.
12. SEO Results Are Measurable
Data is king in today’s business and marketing world. Having accurate information and analyzing it to gain new insights are two essential strategies to take your service area business to the next level. Local SEO for small businesses gathers vital information about how your website is functioning and offers you a clear picture of how you can improve.
As a result, SEO offers you measurable data that can improve your bottom line.
The Bottom Line
To thrive, small businesses have to focus their marketing efforts on specialized and relevant marketing techniques. Investing in local SEO is a tried-and-true method of putting your small business in the spotlight and attracting all of the right clients.
At Cube Creative Design, we understand the value of local SEO for business success and have been assisting businesses in reaching their full digital marketing potential. We have numerous success stories and would love to share them with you!
Contact us today to learn more about our Business Growth SEO Services and receive a complimentary consultation for your company. We are here to assist you!
