You may be wondering why you should ensure that your business site is up-to-date with the latest local SEO practices.
SEO has become a major thing in the internet marketing world. Including Search Engine Optimization is sure to yield many benefits to your website promotion, and thus your business as well. Unless you are an expert yourself hiring an SEO agency or an independent freelancer is a valuable investment
In this post, we’ll detail why local SEO for your business is so important going into 2019, with statistics that prove how beneficial local SEO is for a business, as well as some basic tips on how to get your business into Google’s local rankings.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) allows you to effectively market your business online to a local audience. Using a variety of techniques and strategies to get your business ranked in Google’s ‘Local Pack’ for your specific service will allow you to attract local customers looking for that service in their area.
Why is Local SEO Important?
The main reason that local SEO is important, especially if you have a business that provides a local service is because a good portion of smartphone users use their device to perform local searches. This basically means that leads from location-based searches are a major avenue for potential customers. Since these leads are people who are specifically searching for products or services in your local area. This will also lead to a higher conversion rate.
Related: Importance of SEO for Business
Benefits of Local SEO Services
Increase in website traffic
One of the major benefits of local SEO is that it drives quality traffic to a website. With local SEO marketing more people would find your website when they search for products/services you offer, so its very important to create a website strategy that would help capture audiences.
Local SEO helps you get found on local map
When you optimize your website for local searches/local keyword, it doesn't only help you rank high for that particular keyword but it helps your business website to get found on Google's local map where users can access your business quickly without visiting your website such as quick access to your business phone, business address & also website.
Provides quality online reputation
Another reason why its important to implement local SEO strategies is its helps to increase your reputation online. How then does local optimization help improve your online reputation? By getting quality positive reviews for your business on Google and other important areas.
Also, ranking at the top of the search results and Google maps for important keywords, not only helps drive traffic but helps to improve your business online reputation.
Local SEO brings new customers
When a website is optimized for local search it acquires new customers when they search for products/services offered by the site owner. So local SEO when applied to a website helps attracts new customers on a daily, weekly or monthly basis depending on the type of products/services offered.
Local SEO converts searches to purchases
After a search is made on search engine (like Google) the users therefore performs a purchase on the products/services of his/her choice and this only happens when a website is optimized for local SEO, whereby after a search is made locally on search engine, it appears high on the search result page which results to a purchase by the searcher.
Local SEO helps you get found on organic search result page
Local SEO helps your business websites to show up high on search engine's organic search. And as discussed in the previous point, appearing high on organic search helps converts searches to purchases for your online business.
Its organic listing is 100% free
Organic listing are listings where webpages or website appear on search engine like Google. This listing are free. So applying local SEO to your business website cost nothing, its 100% free - meaning Google doesn't charge you anything to list your business website on its organic search result page.
Less Advertising fee in the long run
With local SEO, you tend to spend less as your business website begins to rank high on search engine's result pages, reason being is your competition become less as your website continues to rank high and also there won't be much need to spend money on some certain type of advertisement such as Google ads (PPC) because you would be ranking high for that particular keyword for your business.
Local SEO helps your business appear where your customers are
Customers make searches everyday for products/services. When your business website is optimized for local search, it automatically appears when customers who are in need of your products/services searches for that particular product/services.
Local SEO helps fill gaps in business services
Customers might be in search of products/services which you offer but with a different means (keywords). But the benefits of local SEO is that you can find out how your competitor’s customers are finding their websites and replicate that to your business. You can use SEO tools such as ahrefs, semrush and lots more to find business service gaps.
Helps target market focus
While most SEO campaigns are generalized and focused only on keywords and demographics, a local campaign will ensure that your business service area is the focus. This increases your rankings and gives you less competition based on local search.
Directory listings
Not everyone utilizes Google to find what they need. Even if they start there, some still wind up on sites like Yelp!, YP.com, Vconnect and other directories that list businesses by location and type. This can help increase your search rankings and give your audience more information about your organization.
Social media marketing
Instead of reaching out to a generic audience, you can tailor your social media campaigns and profiles to a localized audience or group. A car dealer in Lagos, Nigeria isn’t going to want to market to car buyers nationwide, for example. Social media is about making actual connections from virtual spaces, which is why local search optimization is a critical part of a successful marketing campaign.
Local SEO helps build personal connections
Today’s consumer wants to work with a company that they can connect with on a personal level. They aren’t buying a brand or a product. They are buying the personable, professional expertise of local businesses that meet their needs. If you cater your SEO campaign with local keywords and content, you will be much more likely to make the strongest connection to your customers.
Better rankings in SERPs
Optimizing your content for local search will almost immediately improve your chances of ranking higher in search engine results. Even when users search for a related keyword without a location, your local optimization will ensure that your page shows up higher in the results than it might otherwise. Search engines like local SEO, and they reward those who use it well.
It’s Not a Choice
Some people still view search engine optimization and localized keywords as an optional part of their marketing strategy. The benefits listed here do make it sound like a good option, but the fact of the matter is that it is a crucial part of your success in online marketing today. You should include local keywords in your SEO strategy and make sure that you’re capitalizing on your local audience.
If your content is ranking higher in SERPs, you will also gain the benefit of being found easier on certain apps and tools that base their own searches off of sites like Google. With the increasingly mobile world that we live in, this kind of visibility is going to completely change the way that you do business.
Local search optimization is not a new concept by any means, but a tried and true method that is just now coming to the forefront of marketing strategy. As your audience demands a better connection, your marketing campaigns will need to address the areas that you haven’t, including localized SEO. Request a local SEO from our seo company in lagos