When you own a business, you know you have to look at all avenues when it comes to marketing. Perhaps the largest piece of the puzzle is utilizing the internet to attract business. When you consider that Google gets over 63,000 searches per second on any given day, you know that online searching is big business.
In order to get the most out of those searches, you need to pay attention to local SEO marketing. You need to not only understand what it is but how to make sure your business is taking advantage of all the resources out there.
What is Local SEO Marketing?
Local SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of making your business visible when people do searches by geographic location. When local SEO marketing is done right, it will help you rank higher than your competitors, get more viable leads, and bring more organic traffic to your website.
Why do I Need Local SEO for My Business?
You need local SEO for your business because when people are looking for a specific service, they usually want to find one that is nearby, not one 100 miles away. When you boost your local SEO, you’re increasing the chance of people finding your business which is a win-win for your profits.
Benefits of Local SEO Marketing
Besides making your business more visible online, there are other benefits to local SEO marketing.
Local SEO marketing boosts your page ranking. When you pay attention to local SEO marketing, you’re not only helping to get more traffic to your site, but you’re also boosting your page ranking. This helps to increase your online visibility. When more people see you and know about you, you’re more likely to increase your business.
You create a better name for yourself locally. There are people who may live close by to your business but never heard of you for one reason or another. When they do a search to find out about local services, they find your business and realize you were right under their noses the entire time. If you didn’t take advantage of local SEO marketing, your business would still remain unknown.
You stand out with local SEO. There are many companies that don’t pay attention to local SEO. That’s why they lose out on attracting these potential customers who may have called them for the service they were looking for.
Elements of Local SEO Marketing
When you’re talking about local SEO marketing, there are several basic elements that go into making it a success.
Add keywords. Your on-page elements need to contain keywords that will boost your local SEO. When you work with a marketing company that is well-versed in SEO and local SEO, they’ll make sure that your site and elements have the appropriate keywords.
Take advantage of Google My Business. In order to get the most out of local SEO marketing, you’ll want to take advantage of your Google My Business listing. This means you’ll first have to claim your listing. This is important because it lets Google know your business is legitimate. Only the business owner can do this. Once this is done, you can start taking advantage of your listing. This means you’ll not only want to make sure all of the relevant information (business location, phone number, hours) is correct, but also make sure that all of the relevant categories are checked off. This will help you get seen by more people. You’ll also want all of the fields filled out. Having an incomplete Google My Business listing is not going to help your business.
Get more reviews. It’s no secret that people invest a lot of trust in online reviews, but positive and negative ones. While you can’t control what people are going to say in a review, you can ask people who have had a positive experience to kindly leave you a positive review. Some people may do this without you asking, but you can always ask if you feel comfortable doing so. If you receive negative reviews, responding to them is also a good practice because it shows you care about your business.
Provide more local content. Your website will not only include information about your services but should also provide valuable content. Gearing this content to a local level will also make you more relevant in your area. People won’t have to go anywhere else because they’ll have all the information that they need when they visit your site. This local content can be in the form of blogs on your site or newsletters.
Make sure your site is mobile-friendly. If people are out and about and looking for a popular Mexican restaurant in the area, they’re going to be doing that search on their phones. That’s why your listing and site needs to be mobile-friendly. If people can’t get the information they need on their phone, they’ll find a listing and site that will give it to them.
Your page should load quickly. Besides being mobile-friendly, your page should also load quickly. People don’t want to wait to get results. If they wait too long, they’ll click off your site and find another that loads quickly.
How do I Know if I Need Help with Local SEO Marketing?
If you’re not sure if you should look for help with local SEO marketing, see if your company checks these boxes:
- Your company is not global.
- You have a strict local service area.
- You want to grow your local business.
- You want your business to show up on Google maps and other geographical services.
If you’re nodding your head in agreement to those statements, then it’s time to get a marketing company on your side that knows how to take advantage of local SEO advertising.
At Portside Marketing, we know the importance of being visible on a local level. We know what strategies to use to get your business noticed during local searches. Call us today at (972) 979-9316 to get started!