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Businesses with customers who visit a local address are missing out on sales opportunities if they aren’t using local search engine optimization for their digital assets. We’re not just talking restaurants, retail shops, or dentists either. B2C and B2B companies (such as ad agencies or equipment manufacturers) can both benefit from the digital traffic that is generated through local SEO.
What is local SEO and how does it differ from traditional search engine optimization tactics? Local SEO targets geographically-based web searches, such as “casual footwear in Buffalo, NY”, rather than broad categorical searches such as “casual footwear”. The strategy relies on physical identifiers on a company website and other Internet marketing tools as well as customer reviews and Web citations. Local SEO employs similar elements as national or global SEO. On-page factors such as absolute and relative keyword frequency or webpage file name are important, as well as internal and external linking. The difference is in some of the tactics used to elevate your rankings.
In order to be successful at achieving high rankings you must claim a local profile on Google and other search engines. Your profile is what will be displayed when a localized search is conducted. Another important element is to gather citations. A citation is a digital reference to your company which uses the company name, address, and phone number (known digitally as NAP). Your NAP should appear on each webpage in your site, in the same format as the local listing that has been created through Google, etc. It is important to use the same NAP format; for example, street abbreviations (St. vs ST) should be the same.
The third important element of successful local SEO is business reviews from customers. Both quantity and quality count, and it’s better to have reviews posted on search engine listings. Although reviews on third-party sites such as Yelp are incorporated into the search algorithms, to be most effective the reviews should appear on your Google Places or similar search engine pages.
So how does local SEO help your brick-and-mortar business? The first point to understand is that an overwhelming majority of B2B buyers and everyday consumers research purchases online prior to buying. While there are many purchases made online with companies that have minimal local presence, searches for local outlets has increased rapidly over the past five years. Local SEO is essential for visibility; a local SEO strategy helps to boost your rankings when buyers are searching for your products or services.
The second point is that, without a solid local online presence, competitors who are optimizing for local searches are attracting your potential customers. When a prospect searches for “San Antonio handbags” or “Des Moines tractor repair” you want your business to appear near the top of the results list. Consequently, local SEO is critical to competing locally within the digital marketplace.
Local SEO is an ongoing process that requires frequent updates and citation searches. Although some local SEO tasks can be handled by small biz owners, the time consumed by optimizing locally can reduce your focus on your core business practices. As with most SEO services, you get what you pay for. It is best to work with an SEO agency (like Motoza) that has experience – successful experience – optimizing digital assets for local searches. Therefore, we recommend contacting one of our knowledgeable Motoza SEO experts today. Start leveraging your digital presence for better local visibility.
