Using Local SEO to Boost Your Business
More and more businesses are using local SEO as a way to effectively market their products and services. Every day millions of customers use local SEO without even knowing it. For example, every time you search for “best restaurants in Atlanta” that is a type of local SEO search. The algorithms behind search engines such as Google will pick up on the fact that you are looking for restaurants in the Atlanta metro area and will structure your search results accordingly. The key to a successful local SEO strategy is to get your site ranked by the major search engines as well as by business directories such as Yelp, Superpages, Foursquare, and Yellowbook. Local specific content on your website and online reviews are also important parts of a successful local SEO approach.
In the past, it used to be that customers would use a printed yellow pages directory to find what they were looking for but current research from searchengineland.com shows that almost two-thirds of customers are using online directories to find local businesses. A startling 78% of business searches from a mobile platform result in an offline purchase! The advantage of a robust local search strategy is that you can connect with customers when they need you the most. If a customer is looking for a dry cleaner, for example, they want to find one close by and in a hurry. Appearing anywhere other than on the first page of search results makes it far less likely that you will capture that customers business.
Let Our SEO Help Your Conversion Rates
Conversion rates with a strong local SEO can be as high as 50%, a rate that would be virtually unheard of with a traditional print-based marketing strategy. It is a great return on investment since you are reaching potential customers only when they need you, not when they don’t. Efficient and profitable are the key words when thinking of local SEO. Virtually all businesses can be listed free of charge on Google My Business, a free listing service that Google provides. However, only 44% of businesses have claimed their local listing. Don’t be part of that other 56%! Claim your listing and get a head start on your competition.
Local SEO Can Boost Your Business Awareness
People depend on the internet to find information about local businesses just as they do for other sorts of information. Online word of mouth is an excellent way to boost your sales. A recent survey by brightlocal.com shows that 88% of local consumers trust online business reviews. Asking valued customers to provide a review on your website or a trusted business directory is a great way to grow your business.
As a business owner, in addition to search rankings, you need to focus on getting the details right. Make sure your name, address, and phone number are consistent across your website, social media platforms, and business directories. You should also have locally focused content that represents your business. Perhaps you are one of the sponsors for a 5k run to raise money for cancer research, or maybe you are supporting a local community service organization. These are the types of things you want to promote and highlight on your website and social media pages. Your website can serve as a local resource for your industry or type of business, a place that potential customers turn go to, to find help.
Let Cloud Talk USA Help Your SEO Efforts
Cloud Talk USA can help you build a robust local SEO presence. We will do the research and find keywords that are most commonly used in your industry and match them with logical, geographically tagged phrases that help build quality search results. We can also help you be found more easily by building citations on Google and other search engines, (in some industries there can be over 15 citations). Finally, CTI can create quality content that will hold value in search results and help convert the casual user into a dedicated customer for your business.
