One of the most powerful tools for small businesses and retailers is local search.
Imagine that you are spending a quiet weekend home, catching up on reading or binge-watching your favourite show. You discover the horror of a leaky pipe that’s flooded your home.
You need a plumber and you need him now! How would you go about finding one? You are most likely to search ‘plumbers near me’ on your phone.
Be it doctor information, new cafes or handyman services, local search is increasingly driving customers to businesses. Even more so with voice-activated search, that makes it very convenient.
In fact, 46% of all searches on Google are looking for local information. If you look at local SEO statistics, you will realize the potential and power of optimizing for local search.
Here is why you should invest in local SEO services:
1. Local SEO helps you rank higher in Google’s search engine results
The vast majority of customers use Google as their primary search engine to find local services and businesses, and those who make a local search are also highly likely to visit.
The first page of Google’s search has shrunk over the years and the local seven pack has been cut down to a three pack, making local search even more challenging than ever before for a small business to rank well in
While you can’t control who makes it to the three pack, you can certainly work to improve your ranking for search. On-page signals like presence and consistency of Name Address Phone number (NAP), keywords, and domain authority can influence your localized organic ranking.
This is where SEO can help you. Google will show the user results that are relevant to their search term AND geographical location. So, if your SEO is weak or on-page signals are inconsistent, the results will overlook your business.
2. Think of local SEO and local search as a free form of advertisement
When you optimize for local searches, you enable your products and services to be discovered easily by local customers who are literally looking for you via a search engine.
A local search strategy will help you rank higher and when done right even achieve the coveted three pack. What better form of free advertisement can you hope for?
One trick that can help you design your strategy is to think of your business from the customer’s point of view. Plan by searching for keywords that relate to your business. You need to enhance your organic visibility by capturing the most relevant keywords in your category. Local SEO and local search engines are free sources of advertisements.
While it is free to claim most listings like Google My Business, Bing and other business directories, this may not be the case forever. With the right strategy and optimal listing you can reach highly targeted and easily converted audience.
3. Mobile searches continue to grow
Mobile search queries continue to grow, now even with voice search. According to Google, “Nearly 60% search queries globally now come from mobile “”
The numbers will only rise as we depend more and more on our mobiles for all our needs, especially on the go. There is a high probability of people doing local searches on their phones of calling up the businesses they find. Local SEO offers customers the ability to take this action and ends up providing your business with a qualified lead!
If your local SEO strategy doesn’t factor in mobile, then it should.
Local SEO can be a powerful tool in your battle to find more customers and qualified leads.
Optimize your website and web presence, provide relevant information to customers and expand your client base. You can also hire a professional SEO company to boost your local ‘discoverability’ and rank better than your competition.
