How Local SEO Can Boost Your Business Ranking
Local search engine optimization, or SEO, is important for businesses in a particular location. Why? Simply put, because a business owner needs to generate traffic to his/her website in order to receive profits. And in order to generate traffic, one must drive visitors to his/her website. This is where the local SEO comes in. Here are some reasons why the local SEO is an important part of a businesses’ marketing strategy:
Online visibility and relationships – One of the most important reasons why local SEO is so important is because it builds relationships with the consumers online. Online connections translate to more sales – in the form of leads and sales. A well-optimized Local SEO strategy can significantly improve a businesses’ online visibility making it easier for a customer to find a business. A well-optimized Local SEO will likely result in higher click-through rates, more direct interactions and more referrals.
Build stronger customer relations – With the rise of social media marketing, a Local SEO strategy is even more important to a business since it allows the customers to get to know a business more intimately. Social listening is the process wherein an individual shares their opinion or review about a business or service with others via social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These platforms allow people to let their colleagues or friends know what they think about a specific business or services. In this way, a business has the opportunity to hear what consumers want, even when they are not physically near. Social listening creates strong customer relations.
Improve Local search results – Since Google and other search engines have changed their algorithm to give high rankings to localized websites, a Local SEO strategy has become all the more important. To ensure a high ranking among local searches, a Local SEO plan should include relevant keywords. The use of local search keywords will increase your chances of appearing in the first few results for the particular keywords. For example, if a user types the keyword “cupcakes” in Google, you are likely to appear in the first page of search results. The key is to make sure that you tailor your Local SEO strategy to specific locations. For instance, if you run a cupcake shop in Alabama, your SEO strategy must target the phrase “Tulsa’s Best Cupcakes”.
Drive quality traffic – Social media and online visibility can drive quality traffic to your website. A Local SEO strategy includes building links and connecting with industry-related forums, blogs and review sites. You can also include backlinks to your website through directories, article submission sites and social bookmarking sites. High Local search results will also be obtained through link building.
Improve your website’s online visibility – Today’s most successful Internet marketers recognize the importance of local SEO. Local SEO strategy involves online visibility by submitting your website to various local search engines and social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Digg and StumbleUpon. These techniques will improve your business’s online visibility, which will increase your chance of obtaining new customers and new sales. It will also improve your company’s link popularity. Link building is very important for boosting your Local SEO positioning. It can help you obtain a better ranking in Google and other leading search engines.
Advertise your business – As you work to increase your Local SEO positioning, you will want to advertise your company. Advertising online is highly effective. You can either perform organic search optimization or pay for PPC campaigns. Organic optimization requires the creation of content. PPC, on the other hand, involves paying advertisers. Both techniques are capable of drawing the attention of local searchers.
Make use of customer reviews – Google’s organic results page allows users to leave reviews about your business online. This is one of the best ways to draw in new customers. Customers who find a business through online reviews are more likely to visit the site and purchase products from it. Similarly, reviews written by other users about your company are also beneficial to your ranking factors.