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The importance of local Search Engine Optimization cannot be overemphasized, as many businesses and marketers are already taking advantage of its benefits. As the clock ticks, local SEO will continue to be relevant for enterprise companies for the following reasons:
Local Scale Exposure
The main reason for using local SEO is that it will target the people in the area where your business is established. This makes SEO a powerful tool for the small business owners who have recently started their enterprises.
Leverage local online resources like Craigslist, Angie’s List, and Yelp. Advertise in local classifieds.
Make sure to upload high-quality images and videos and other items relevant to your business on sites like these.
Link Building and Social Sharing
Another important part of using local SEO is the creation of potential partnerships between two business firms. It creates a link between them and also helps in social sharing purposes.
In this process, it helps marketers to meet potential clients who can help you grow your business in the future. Meetings with other website owners and local bloggers can change your approach toward business in a positive way. You can initiate an event or a new business idea together for future profit-making strategies as well.
Marketers can build and share their link with local search engines like Google Places, Bing Places, Yahoo Local, Yelp, Foursquare and YP.
Growth of Mobile and Wearable Devices
In 10 countries, including the U.S. and Japan, more Google searches take place on a mobile device than a PC. And with the popularity of wearable devices, like smartwatches, more and more searches will happen on the go. As a result of this, local and proximity-based searches will become more frequent.
According to Adam Farra, CEO of HostGator, “Society today is already transitioning from PCs to mobile Internet usage, so local SEO will be a necessity, not a ‘nice to have’ in the very near future.”
Business Extension
Your website is considered to be a second location of your business. With the help of local SEO, you are actually making it easier for the users to interact with your business. This makes it easier to locate and study your business’s webpage and also update it with informative and engaging content which is relevant for the growth of business in the future.
It is very important to consider all these for optimizing your website with regard to the use of local SEO.
Constant revision of content to your website will keep it updated and also your clients will have a better idea about your services, products and promotions.
Profit Maker
If the steps and processes are followed correctly, local SEO will help businesses make more profit along with the much needed online exposure.
Traffic for your website can increase exponentially and immediately if your site is listed in the top spot of search engine results. If your business has a physical location, just how important is local SEO to your bottom line?
According to a recent study, 78 percent of local mobile searches and 61 percent of local laptop searches resulted in purchases offline. In the U.S. alone, there are 7 billion unique local searches monthly. As far as conversion rates go, it could be much worse.
Prompt visibility for your business is due in large proportion to local SEO. Just make sure you’re providing the right content to the right people, driving their online searches to your business.
Local Search Photo via Shutterstock
I just want to second the fact that your website is an extension of your business. People expect you to have a website and they shouldn’t have to look very hard to find it when they search on Google or Bing. Local SEO ensures that you’ve got that much covered.
Aira Bongco
Local SEO is important in terms of visibility. You want to be the first to be discovered in your line of business in your area. After all, that’s the best way to get customers in your market.
Remember online reviews of your business are key to local SEO as well. Get as many reviews as you can on Google Plus, Yelp and more to increase your local market share and SEO!
Thanks for putting together this fantastic article Melissa! Local SEO and citation building as well as geo targeting is something businesses should be including into their marketing mix. I also really like how you highlighted mobile devices and proximity searches. Local SEO strategies are becoming a hot topic.
Given that the local search pack comes up before most other pages in the serps google thinks that being local is important. If you want to get found in Google for many local searches you should also consider it important.
Aira Bongco
That as well. I think that it is important to promote your business locally because it also means that you will come up on local search.
Olivia Duke
Hey, Milissa you did a really great job. The factors which you mention are really mean to Local Businesses. Local SEO is the most important part of your business. Any business can get benefits of local SEO. Google really like local business cause google want to give the people what they exact want. And for that all the things Link buildings, Social Media, Profile creations are extremely important factors.
Mike Jones
I think importance of local SEO is growing every passing day and i won’t be surprise if local SEO would be more competitive in near future. Things like knowledge graph and personalize search results has already taking local SEO to next level.
Couldn’t agree more Melissa 🙂 Local is where everything is going 🙂
Hello Melissa Thompson ,
Thanks for your outstanding blog on usability of local seo and small business.
I am fully agree with your opinion and i an going to add some of aspects.
Question is , why i need to do local seo rather targeting global?
Now, ask your self, are you doing business or selling products locally or globally . if local, you have to have focus on local .
For example, dental services or dentists, google is giving localized search results on top page. If you do proper local seo, you might do great business from your locality.
Moreover, review, local maps listings, local engagement can be key factor for local seo
Cheers,
Hi Melissa, I agree with you 100%. Google continues to modify the search algorithms and even extrapolates their own terms for some searches. Local SEO may become the dominant factor in the future.
Hi Melissa no argument here. Google is increasingly focused on local results. As business owners most of our business is local so only makes sense.
With increased use of mobile search for practically everything, it has become a necessity to mark your business online. Local SEO ensures your business is enlisted online and discoverable by the local population.
Amazing post for local SEO, Nowadays every small or major company wants to grow their business services and attract the more users. Most People search on the Google for the services then they prefer to click on the local SEO result rather than organic search. Local SEO helps to promote your business services and product. It is important for all the business because it increases the traffic, attracts customer, and, business promotion.
Alfrod John
Thank you so much for helping understand local SEO. I must say today i got cleared about SEO i though its too much complex and only minded people can do this by after reading your blog i think i should try now.
By the way I want to ask you that, Google ad-words is it worth it. ? for conversion on any website, i had seen some people who are doing only ad-words rather than SEO.
Local SEO have become more amd more significant these days. It’s important for all businessmen to know that it has become a mandatory task to market your business or product or service locally. The geographical status of the firm making huge impact og the business. Here are some additional information on Local SEO i believe that I should share here.