Isn’t local SEO a difficult game to master? There are so many moving parts and details that it is easy to become overwhelmed. Not to mention the time, effort, and money required to get it right. We understand!
Regardless, the significance of local SEO cannot be overstated. If you want your business to succeed online, you must have a good local search engine optimization strategy in place, or else your competitors will beat you to the top of Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs).
With that in mind, if you’re considering ways to improve your local SEO in 2022, here’s how to put in place an effective strategy this year to get a leg up on the competition. We’ll give you some “do these things now” suggestions to help you improve your rankings.
Why is Local SEO so important?
First and foremost, let us discuss why local SEO is so important. In fact, it’s now an essential component of any company’s overall digital marketing strategy.
Simply put, people use Google to search for local businesses. You can bet that more than half of online searches are performed by location, whether they’re looking for the best local restaurant near them or a plumber. In fact, four out of every five consumers use search engines to find information about local businesses.
This means that if your company has an online presence, customers are probably searching for it right now on their phone or desktop computer, and they’ll make a purchase decision based on what they see in the search results.
This explains why the majority of businesses now have a presence on Google Search, Maps, and Photos (these make up Google My Business). Google, in fact, accounts for nearly 80% of all digital ad spend. And with consumers using their platform more than any other, it’s easy to see why.
As a result, you cannot overlook the significance of having strong SEO for your company’s local page. Local customers will have a difficult time finding you if they can’t even find your website in local search results.
Even if you aren’t an expert in search engines or SEO, there are ways to improve your local SEO. Strong campaigns that make a difference can be created with the right plan and execution.
How Can Local SEO Help Local Businesses?
Local SEO will assist you in increasing visibility, expanding your customer base, and improving conversions. Without a local SEO strategy in place, you will lose out to competitors who have a more visible online presence than you. Let’s look at how local SEO can help your business grow:
Increasing Organic Traffic
This is where local SEO can help you the most. Having your website mapped on Google has advantages beyond simply displaying your company in the SERPs.
If someone searches for information about a specific business location (or multiple locations), this will match your website and direct them to it. In other words, if someone searches for your business in Google Maps and clicks on it, they will be directed to your Google My Business page.
People can learn more about your company, such as the services you provide and your location, from there. You might even catch them visiting your website or social media channels.
This means you’ll get free traffic from people looking for information about your company, similar companies, and, in some cases, the entire industry!
The best part is that, unlike paid ads, organic visibility is completely free. You simply need to use the proper SEO techniques to reach customers looking for local businesses.
Enhancing Brand Authority
Another advantage of implementing an effective local SEO strategy is gaining online authority and credibility. Again, this is completely free, and it will be well worth your time in the long run.
If you want people to trust you and your company, all you have to do is appear where they look for local businesses. For example, if someone searches Google for “plumbers near me,” the first few local search results will almost certainly be Google My Business pages.
When you rank for these keywords, you are essentially telling people that your company is legitimate and trustworthy. You will increase your local presence in search results and appear in more searches than before if you use the right local SEO techniques and keyword research. This alone can contribute to the development of trust among consumers who may become future customers.
But keep in mind that once you’ve mastered local SEO and improved your local ranking, you’ll want to keep your top spot and avoid being demoted. Otherwise, you risk losing your status and having to fight to regain it later.
Increasing Leads
Another advantage of local SEO is that it increases the number of leads for your company. You should notice an increase in the number of people contacting you as your online visibility grows.
There are two reasons for this:
1) Many first-time customers will discover your company through local searches and become leads.
2) As your website’s visibility grows, more potential customers will find it and contact you for services.
To generate more leads by being visible on the SERPs, your local SEO strategy should include the following elements:
- By using the right keywords, you can improve your local SEO.
- Writing compelling content that describes your product or service.
- Increasing traffic to your website through paid advertisements.
- Improving your website’s user experience and SEO.
Increased Conversions Because of Targeted Traffic
Improving your local ranking will help your business attract more relevant visitors and convert more targeted traffic. This is because local SEO, in particular, targets people who want to do business in their own community. In other words, when people search for a local business, their intent is clearer.
For example, when someone searches for “Italian food” online, it can be difficult to determine whether the person is looking for Italian cuisine in their area or simply information about pasta recipes, whereas when they search for “Italian food in Philly,” it is clear that the person is looking to do business locally and eat Italian food.
As a result, if people are looking for what you have locally, they are most likely ready to buy right away. As a result of improved local rankings, you’ll see more leads that convert into paying customers. Make sure to collect data from your website using a free tool like Google Analytics.
