SEO is known by many as a crucial component of any business operating on the internet. Often, people associate SEO with large blogs, e-commerce stores, or anything with an international audience. Local SEO is lesser known and often overlooked, even though it can make a huge difference.
Local SEO has the same general goal as “regular” SEO but with a more specific intention of attracting local attention to your business. Things like coffee shops, physical stores, and the like can benefit from local SEO strategies that help bring local customers to the actual location.
Local SEO Services
If you’re trying to grow your business but aren’t sure what next steps to take, a local SEO service may be the answer. Local SEO services offer expert help and advice for improving the SEO on your website. If you don’t have a website already, plenty of local SEO services offer website building as well!
How Does Local SEO Work?
Once your site is up and running a local SEO service will start implementing their strategies. There are many facets to SEO no matter what the goal is, so implementation is often a multi-part plan.
Some of the basic local SEO tactics include:
- SEO-optimized blog posts. By posting regular articles on your website, you can improve your SEO while providing helpful information to your customers. For example, a coffee shop could publish an informational piece about coffee beans. While this won’t directly generate sales, it builds your presence, authority, and visibility in the local coffee lovers scene.
- Optimizing services pages for local search terms. Your website may include pages such as “About Us,” “Contact us,” “Meet the Team” etc. Each of these pages can be optimized to rank for local search terms like “coffee shop near me,” or “best coffee in (city).”
- Link building. Linking to other pages on your own website keeps people on your site longer and provides them with additional information. You can also work on building backlinks – when other websites link to you. This tells Google you have valuable information and increases your ranking.
- Keyword research. By conducting proper research, your local SEO team will know which terms are most popular, and what they should try to rank for. This often requires specialized tools that a good local SEO business will have access to.
These are just some of the things a local SEO business will do to help increase your local SEO and strengthen your general online presence.
When choosing a local SEO company to work with, always ensure a few things:
- They have a good reputation and positive reviews.
- They have good customer service and transparent reporting.
- They listen to your ideas, concerns, and goals and implement them when possible.
- They have a strong portfolio of previous successful SEO campaigns.
How Local SEO Can Boost Your Business
Local SEO may sound great, but how can it help your business grow? Even if you’re not operating on the global landscape and don’t need attention from people across the country, SEO is your friend.
Once you’re properly optimized for local search terms and your website is ranking, you’ll see a few things start to happen:
- More followers and engagement on your social media platforms. This means people see what you’re saying and you’re on their minds.
- More traffic to your website, where potential customers can see what you have to offer, where you’re located, etc.
- If you’re regularly publishing an interesting and informative blog, customers will love reading your latest content and they’ll appreciate the constant flow of facts and information. This increases dedication and loyalty, creating regular customers in your shop.
Ultimately, the goal of every local SEO technique is to draw new customers into your physical location and create repeat business from existing customers. Many people these days consult the internet before even the simplest buying decisions. They’ll look for reviews, ratings, and experiences from other customers. All of this helps them decide where to go.
This applies to everything from retail stores and restaurants to coffee shops and experience-based businesses like event halls or escape rooms.
Why Invest in Local SEO Services?
No matter the specific goal of your new SEO strategy, getting results isn’t easy nor is it simple. Not only does learning SEO require a lot of time, but it’s always changing. Google updates its algorithm regularly and new techniques are developed constantly.
Local SEO services not only know SEO inside and out but they’re always on top of evolving trends and best practices. They’ll not only set you up for success but they’ll work with you regularly so your website never falls behind.
There are many benefits to working with a local SEO service versus trying to do it by yourself:
- They have access to all the best tools and systems, for keyword research, analytics, reporting, etc.
- They’re educated and experienced; they’ll know exactly what your specific website needs and what will work best for your business.
- They’re experts in the area – they know what competition you may have locally and they’re familiar with what resonates with local customers. They’re also familiar with the local demographics and can use that to their advantage.
- They’re familiar with the ever-changing landscape of SEO so you don’t have to constantly learn new things just to stay afloat.
- Depending on the company, you may be able to get other services in the same place, such as Google ads, web design, copywriting, etc.
Grow Your Business with Local SEO
If you aren’t already taking advantage of local SEO, it’s never too late to start! Don’t underestimate the power of a great website and a strong online presence. Even if you’re operating a small and humble local business, most of your potential customers use the Internet.
You can leverage things like blogs and keywords to get their attention and bring them into your store instead of the competition. If you’re unsure where to start, please contact us today and we’ll get you started with everything you need!
