The benefits of SEO for local businesses cannot be overstated enough.
While you may think SEO only benefits larger companies, SEO can help draw in the local clientele for smaller businesses by giving them greater exposure online. Think of how often people search for terms like, “service near me”, folks want to know about local businesses that can cater to their needs. By optimizing your online presence with SEO, your business can feature higher in search engine results which can, in turn, increase the odds of drawing in new customers.
To help put everything into perspective, here are some of the benefits of local SEO that can help small businesses to grow their brand and bring in new local clients.
1. Gaining Local Exposure
One of the biggest benefits of SEO for local businesses is that it is specifically designed to target customers in your local area. And because 4 in 5 consumers utilize internet searches to find information about local businesses, ensuring that your business is one of the top results can help you gain exposure to new customers. In this technological dependent age, more and more people are putting their trust in the first five search results, as opposed to billboards or word of mouth.
2. Building Relationships
Another of the benefits of SEO for local businesses is the potential for building partnerships between other local businesses. A partnership like this can help both parties gain exposure and it is a great way to combine knowledge and resources. If you are working on SEO yourself, this can also be a great way to connect with folks who may know the system better than you. This can give you valuable insight into how you can better optimize your site to rank higher during searches.
3. Mobile Locating
Since most people have a mobile device on them when they’re out and about, the rate of people searching on the go has risen dramatically. In addition to people searching for locations manually, some phones and smartwatches offer proximity alerts for ranking businesses to alert consumers to their presence. If your online site isn’t optimized you’ll be less likely to ping one of these alerts, meaning more people will overlook your business simply because they won’t know where to look.
4. Online Business
If your business site also serves as an online marketplace, SEO can help more people from all over connect with your brand. While local foot traffic is good, being able to target consumers all across the globe can help you grow your business and build an even stronger consumer base. A great way to do this is by incorporating a blog aspect to your website if possible. While this may seem daunting to do on your own, there are many outside businesses that specialize in SEO that can help you write and manage all of your content. And, by consistently posting new optimized content, your site will continue to feature higher in search engine results. It will also make your site seem more responsive and lively to customers!
5. Profits
If conducted correctly, locally targeted SEO content can help businesses exceed their profit expectations by driving increased sales with new consumers. As more traffic comes through your site you can expect to see more in-store traffic as well as online purchases and inquiries due to more people taking notice of your products or services. While this may not seem too crucial for brick and motor locations, a recent study suggests that 61% of local online searches yielded purchases offline at the physical location!
Visibility is important for any business, and the benefits of SEO for local businesses can’t be overstated enough. If you’re looking for a way to increase traffic and bring in new clients, consider optimizing your website and including tailored content that will help you rank higher in search results. In this digital age, one of the best ways of advertising is by ensuring you’re number one on the next online search.
