Being a small business owner, the biggest challenge is to be visible on Google such that we are visible in the search engine results when someone is searching for our service. This is where the local SEO services come to the rescue. It is necessary to be easily found in the online world if small businesses want to attract more people to come and visit the stores, make calls, and sell more.
Local Rankings Are Our Main Focus
We don’t have to show our website all around the whole world. We just need to make our neighbors know about us. When a user types in “best pizza near me” or “emergency plumber in Austin” Google will display the best local results. If we don’t possess our business for local search, then we are not going to take full advantage of the deal.
Local SEO is what we need to have for us to be shown in maps, search results, and local directories. So that people can easily find our address in our community and can quickly go there.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO (search engine optimization) is a method of exposing our business to its target audience that may be just nearby. Local SEO is focused on customers within a limited range from the store, unlike the general kind. It goes beyond putting down the names of cities on our site. The true local SEO includes:
- Setting up our Google Business Profile
- Managing online reviews
- Making sure our name, address, and phone number are the same everywhere
- Using words related to our location
- Getting links from local websites
Such things as these indicate to search engines to find us as a local business, and to trust other local customers with goods in case of need.
How It Helps Small Businesses
Suppose I have a boutique in Atlanta. If my store doesn’t have local SEO, there is a good chance that my store won’t be found when someone searches for “vintage shops near me.” Such a potential customer might then choose a store even if it is difficult to find.
Let’s say my business appears on Google Maps with good reviews, accurate business hours, and images. One is not only able to see us but can also have a sense of trust in us.
- Local SEO can do the following for us:
- Our store can rank better on Google Maps
- More customers from the nearby area are coming to our website
- Walk-ins and phone calls will increase
- Our online reputation will improve
- Searchers will trust us more
Moreover, local SEO is a one-of-a-kind advantage for small businesses to compete with big chains through being super relevant on a local level just one step away from the customers.
Major Traits of an Effective Strategy
1. Google Business Profile
It’s a highly useful tool and it’s free. We have to fill it out completely, add attractive photos to it, respond to reviews, and keep our hours updated. If we do all this, we will be more visible than just using our business listing.
2. Local Listings
List our business everywhere we can find a place to do so, e.g., Yelp, Bing, Apple Maps, and other directories. It is also vital to always keep our business information the same across all platforms.
3. Location Pages
In case we offer our service in different areas, then in this respect it is crucial to create a separate page for every area. We could put the information on the page about our city as well, which, along with service details, is to be added on that page.
4. Reviews and Ratings
Active and engaged business profiles are preferred by Google as they are more conspicuous and pertained to their customers.
5. Mobile-Friendly Website
Many people tend to look for local businesses on their phones. Our website, if it doesn’t run well on mobile devices, will be subject to a loss of customers. One of the necessary aspects is the quick loading of the site and its adaptability to a small screen.
Getting Help from Experts
If all of this seems impossible, we’re not the only ones facing this. There is a substantial number of small business owners who are too busy even just to complete the work that is demanded. For instance, Web Services CT offers complete digital marketing packages tailored to small businesses in Connecticut. Whether you need a sleek website or help managing your local SEO, they’ve got you covered.
These SEO companies can fix technical problems on our website, write content that includes local information, and handle many other details. This lets us focus on running our business.
Conclusion
Local SEO provides small businesses with an opportunity to be discovered on the web by individuals who are near their businesses. It is the method that allows our business to come up in local searches, maps, and directories. This causes more people to visit the store, make calls, and buy products. In our case, our business can successfully establish itself among the biggest companies and become a more influential participant in the local market if we concentrate on local SEO.