Local search engine optimisation (SEO) offers small businesses a chance to improve their visibility on maps and draw in local clients due to the increase in map-based searches. According to Backlinko, 86% of consumers find local businesses on maps, underscoring the importance of local SEO in helping businesses reach their intended market. This is a huge portion of potential customers and if you aren’t attractive to your local customers then the chances of building a strong and successful brand image the further away you go are unlikely.
Why Does Your Small Business Need Local SEO?
Local SEO brings many benefits to small businesses. Where the market is already competitive, you are better off using your small business as a competitive advantage. It gets you on the map and provides opportunities for your small business to improve its digital marketing strategies.
What is Local SEO?
Simply explained, local SEO is a service that any business can use to optimise their website for location-based search terms. For example, rather than focusing on ‘Local SEO’ as a keyword, they will target ‘Local SEO in Mysore’ or ‘Local SEO Manchester'.’ These location terms still get a good number of searches per month and are a more reasonable keyword to try and rank for in a shorter time, especially if you are a small business.
2018 has seen Google give local search terms more weight than ever before and is still relevant today. Many national search terms now also display a mix of local results, with the following SERP positions up for grabs:
- Organic Presence
- Results for Google Maps
- Structured Data/Rich Snippets
Organic Presence
The standard organic rankings for local terms work similarly to those for national keyword terms; they are primarily determined by your website's authority, which is achieved through a focused, high-quality link-building campaign as well as on-page technical SEO elements and content.
To have the best chance of ranking locally, an SEO campaign must also include a few other elements, such as a local phone number and address that correspond to the area you want to rank in. For instance, it always helps to have both "Manchester" and the number "0161" in your address if you want to rank for a search term related to Manchester. You need your address and phone number to be updated on your site and Google My Business at all times; keep them the same across all directories or this can affect your Google rankings.
Google Map Results
More people are scrolling straight to Google Map Results for pretty much everything, so ensuring you’re consistently in the top 3 increases your chances of bringing a lot more traffic to your site.
Optimisation in Google Maps can be so effective that people will inquire directly. For example, if you are a restaurant and you want to be ranked as ‘Local Restaurant in Manchester', if you are in the top three, you are most likely to attract between 30% and 40% of clicks from the average daily search.
To get to those top 3 positions, you have to ensure your product or service is appreciated by previous customers. This is the same if your information is correct and consistent with the details you have on your website but there is a lot more that goes into ranking in the top 3. These are just some of the basics you need to keep on top of. One could argue that ranking first in the map results is preferable to ranking first organically in the regular search results because it places you above all of the organic rankings.
Structured Data and Rich Snippets
Even though structured data has been around for a while, many websites, companies, and even SEO agencies still largely underuse it. Structured data is what you've seen if you've ever searched on Google and then received a box with a list of questions and answers underneath, or if you were shown movie times, a recipe, a menu, etc. Here is one instance:
Before they scroll down the page, rich snippets are a great way to get users to click through to your website. To put it another way, people prefer speedy responses and convenience. Similar to how Google Map results are helpful, they also generate clicks before the user has a chance to scroll down the page with the results.
The setup and optimisation of rich snippets can be challenging, depending on the design of your website so you might have to hire them out of house.
Why is Local SEO Good For My Small Business?
Here are several reasons why small businesses should take advantage of local SEO.
Increases Local Brand Awareness
As mentioned above, you are getting familiar with the local area, and for you to eventually expand your business, you need to at least have the local area a fan of your brand. Optimising your company's online presence to gain exposure on local search intent and engaging with your target audience through popular social media platforms will help you build your brand image and expand your visibility naturally.
Creating locally relevant content in ways that your audience will appreciate will help you build relationships with your local community and foster customer loyalty. You will be building the foundations of your brand if you ever wish to expand.
Increases Local Traffic
The main goal of local SEO is to drive more traffic to your website, which overall increases the chances of sales and brand recognition. Local SEO specifically targets those who are looking for your service or product, which likely brings in qualified buyers.
Improves Conversion Rates
Conversion rates are the percentage of customers who completed a desired action like an inquiry or a purchase, etc. If your traffic is high but your conversion rate is really low, this might be because of your business type. For example, if you are a luxury jewelry brand, you might attract a lot of traffic to your site from product ads but fewer conversions due to the price. You have a small target audience and usually fewer qualified buyers.
Staying Ahead of Competition
Local SEO tactics that work give small businesses a competitive advantage. Increasing your online visibility and differentiating yourself from the competition can be achieved by optimising your site for local searches. Your company will become more competitive in the market if you can make sure it reaches your target audience.
Research will also keep you ahead of the competition; this way, you can find out Google algorithm updates and find out what Google is rewarding with high rankings. This way, you can stay consistently at the top of the local competition.
Cost-Effectiveness
Local SEO is a cost-effective marketing strategy that enables you to get familiar with your community. You can track the keywords that bring people to your website and find out which ones they use by using tools like Google Analytics.
The primary benefit of local search engine optimisation is its capacity to lower marketing expenses through website customisation and optimisation, online resource utilisation, and the avoidance of pricey print or ad campaigns.
Conclusion
Overall, local SEO is critical and should not be overlooked by any large or small businesses. It is a great way to start your SEO journey. Whether you want to do it independently or hire out of the house, you will reap the benefits. It’s important to note that there is a lot that goes into ranking so research is your best friend, ensuring you’re following what Google says. Additionally, this isn’t something that happens overnight so patience and consistent maintenance are crucial.
