As a small business owner, you may be wondering what local SEO is and how it can benefit your business. Local SEO is a way to optimize your website and online presence for local search results. For small companies, local searches are very powerful. 46% of people who search on Google look for local goods, services, and information.
You have a greater chance of missing a great percentage of potential customers if your business is not local search optimized. In short, if you want significant growth in your business, then local SEO is inevitable. However, the benefits of local SEO for small businesses can’t describe in words or short para.
Thus this comprehensive guide will cover all the tips and tools of local SEO to help optimize your business. After going through this article, you will understand how to reach your potential clients by optimizing your business. So, let’s start with the following:
What Is Local SEO For Small Businesses?
Local SEO for small businesses makes your company name visible for geographically related searches. Marketing your small and local business online is a very effective way. Local SEO helps small businesses to promote their services and products to local clients at the exact time. Simply put, you require more local SEO services if you want growth in your small business.
Even though this local SEO service is very important, less than 50% of businesses are using it. But just by using it, small business owners can grab an ample opportunity to get ahead and stand out from the crowd.
Importance Of Local SEO For Small Businesses
Search engines have identified that users, based on their geographic locations, search for specific products and services near them. That is why the importance of local SEO for small businesses is behind the description.
Following Google data, “local intent” is present in more than 46% of searches. This implies that the potential customers within their service areas are looking for the nearest services.
Thus your business will experience new growth if you focus on boosting the local SEO. For improving your business, a successful and efficient local SEO campaign is a must. However, below, point by point, we will tell you the importance of local SEO for small local businesses. So, let’s go through the following points:
- Local SEO, both in the local pack and search results, increases the ranking of your website.
- It increases your website’s organic traffic. And you can get more qualified leads through it
- It receives all local advertising channel’s highest conversion levels
- You can significantly increase your online visibility using this local SEO.
- To outrank your local competitors, you have no other options than local SEO
- Mobile users can easily find everything about your business with the help of this SEO.
- This SEO strategy ensures that your potential clients will find your business on the navigational apps and Google maps.
Benefits Of Local SEO For Small Businesses
Local SEO helps all the local small companies to reach out to their nearly targeted audience. And this is the best part of this marketing strategy which makes every small business fond of it. Optimizing it is very easy. You just need to use the location-specific phrases to backlink your local events sites.
As a result, when local visitors will browse your business products or service. The backlink will increase the ranking position. Moreover, the increasing business ranking will lead to more traffic to your business site. However, the benefits of local SEO for your small business are the following:
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People Use Online Searches To Find Local Businesses
Customers nowadays search on Google and other search engines to find local businesses. Among Google searches, 46% contain the local intent. Every business grows and shines intensely on traffic. As a small business owner, you should follow this strategy. As a result, your business will stay long upon the traffic.
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Local SEO Helps You Convert More Customers
One of the most important benefits of local SEO is that it ensures better conversion rates for your business. This SEO strategy improves conversion by driving more potential customers to your business site.
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Use Local SEO To Brand Your Business
To make your business a brand, the use of local SEO is behind the description. It makes your business familiar to your local audience. Thus more visitors and clients get to know about your small business, which helps promote your business. Promotion is the base of building your business a brand.
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Grow Your Business With Local SEO
Depending on the local audience, your local small business can flourish greatly. Or simply local SEO helps to grow your business. Moreover, you can save money with less advertising costs and enjoy business growth. This SEO strategy will result in more sales and business growth.
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Local SEO Helps You Build Long-Term Networks
So, another great local SEO tip for small businesses is to build long-term networks. Many business owners often ask what tremendous advantage local SEO offers over old marketing. The answer is it provides not only temporary growth in your business. Also, it helps you to build a long-term network with your clients.
How Can Small Businesses Use Local SEO?
Local SEO services for small businesses are essential as they capture a local audience for your business. Moreover, depending on the level of competition, local SEO generates more significant and faster results than traditional SEO. However, the following points will explain more clearly of why small businesses should use local SEO. So, let’s start the discussion:
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Creating Accurate, Consistent Local Citations
Create consistent and accurate local citations and optimize your business for Google. The platform aims to provide the searchers with the exact information about your local business. In addition, Google automatically learns about your business through the website crawl bots. Therefore, consistently create accurate citations for your business’s local SEO.
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Listing Your Business In Online Local Directories
So, another important task is to list your business in online local directories. Speaking of business directories, remember to claim the presence of your business in all the business directories. “Google My Business” is the most popular option.
You may think that your Google Business Profile is sufficient for bringing traffic both in-store and online. However, assume that in 92% of search queries top 5 results, a Yelp page is present that contains the business and city category.
What difference will it make when listing your business on Google’s top 5 results? The SERP’s top 5 results account for 80% of clicks on Google’s first page. The single first organic result accounts for nearly 40 percent of clicks. Saying all of this to understand that you can’t claim the presence of your business on all the directories wherever possible.
Fortunately, you can claim your listings easily with the help of local online business directories. You can begin your claiming process by verifying all the information about your business. The major business directories are Google and Yelp. But other options exist, like Facebook, Yahoo, Bing, and Yellow Pages.
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Setting Up & Maintaining Google My Business Profile
Google owned and operate a business directory named Google My Business. This platform aims to provide the local business’s most accurate information to the searchers. So, keeping this in mind, most small local businesses within a year have Google My Business listings. When Google learns of your business through the website crawl bots, it automatically lists your company.
The automated listing is helpful, but one problem with this is that the information may not be accurate or complete. Only after claiming your listing can you ensure that you get the most from this platform. However, to completely optimize the listing of your Google My Business, follow a few essential steps below:
- Create or claim your “Google My Business” listing
- Complete the information on your profile and then publish the listing
- Add your business and offering’s photos and videos to your profile
- Professionally and timely respond to all the ratings and reviews, whether it’s positive or negative
Accurate and updated business information is very much essential. At least monthly, you should update your business profile information. But for success, the weekly monitoring of the listing is vital.
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Responding Regularly To Reviews (Both Good & Bad)
Nowadays, almost everyone researches ratings and reviews before purchasing an item. The livelihood of your business is the customer reviews. Particularly for small and new companies, reviews and ratings are very important.
Now the question is how small business owners can obtain online customer reviews.
First, you have to find a place where your customers can leave a review for you. You have a great place to start if you have your Yelp business listing and Google My Business profile. Secondly, if your customer leave reviews for you, offer an incentive to them.
You can offer an incentive to them by marking them on the in-store receipts or greetings them. Inform your customers that if they leave a review, they will get a complimentary item or discount for it.
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Adding Hyper-Local Content To Your Website
After establishing your profile on business directories, you must understand the landscape. Understanding it will enable you to analyze your competitors’ business strategies or what the competitors are doing. By comparing your competitor’s tasks, you can make better improvements on your site.
Thus to do better than your competitor, add hyper-local content to your website. Use the target keywords and compare your site with the SERP’s top five. Also, for adding local content to your site, you need to consider the following factors:
- Types of content
- Page elements
- Website structure
- Keyword density
Local SEO Services For Small Businesses
If you are unaware of how to handle local SEO to ensure your small business’s growth, you can contact ExertPro. ExertPro is a well-known company that offers you different types of services, including local SEO, keyword research, Search Engine Optimization, citation, etc.
Taking our local SEO service can take your small business to another level. We ensure the highest level of satisfaction and business growth for our customers. Moreover, our experts will help you to fix your business-related most common technical SEO problems. So, don’t hesitate and contact us today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why local SEO is important for small business
Local SEO is crucial for your small business because it increases your site’s ranking in the local pack and search results. It receives all local advertising channel’s highest conversion rates. Also, local SEO increases your business’s online visibility to your neighboring customers.
What are the best local SEO strategies for small businesses?
The best local SEO strategies for your small business are optimizing for Google My Business, performing a local SEO audit, claiming all business directories, etc. Some more are performing the Local SEO audit, creating local content, targeting local keywords, etc.
How much does SEO cost for a small business?
How much SEO will cost your small business varies depending on several factors. But a small business’s average SEO cost is $750-$2,000. So per one hour, small companies for SEO consulting services may need to pay $80-$200.
How to dominate local SEO search rankings?
To dominate local SEO search rankings, optimize your Google Business Profile listing, get listed on different review sites, and build local citations. Also, remember to monitor the ratings and reviews of your local business.
What is the difference between SEO and local SEO
Traditional SEO aims to focus on improving your site’s visibility on a global scale or national level. On the contrary, local SEO connects you with your area’s searchers by allowing you to capture the local search territory.
Final Thoughts
For any small business, hard work and dedication are the most crucial things to growing the business and sales. But Local SEO for small businesses is equally important. SEO may require enough patience and time but believe us, it will pay off in your business in the long run.
So, we already outlined why local SEO is vital for your small business with pro-level tips and tricks. All these tips mentioned above will definitely benefit your business. But, to see the benefit in the future, you should start working today. And from keyword research to social media marketing and paid advertising, if you need any help, contact ExertPro.
