Local search engine optimisation (local seo) should be at the heart of every small business’s digital marketing strategy. It allows your products or services to connect with customers at exactly the time they search, increasing search engine rankings and traffic significantly and opening doors to sales opportunities, leads, and ultimately creating an enduring positive feedback loop that propels forward growth in business.
Local SEO should be used by every small business, especially service industry companies. Each customer that doesn’t fit perfectly can mean missed opportunity – using Local SEO helps weed out those searching without intention to purchase or book services, saving both time and money by prioritizing what are likely to become relevant enquiries.
Utilizing local search engine optimisation techniques like citation building and optimising Google My Business profiles can make your website more visible to customers in your target area, not only improving rankings but also leading to more clicks which in turn leads to an increase in conversion rate due to targeted visitors more interested in what your product or service can provide them than generic web traffic.
Local seo can help to build trust between service industry businesses and their consumers, who are adept at seeing through false claims or deceptive marketing techniques. A well-planned local seo campaign should incorporate elements such as content marketing, social media engagement, guest blogging and link building strategies so as to effectively spread word of your company in ways that resonate with potential customers.
Local seo can be an effective strategy when combined with other marketing activities like email and content marketing to drive more visitors to your website, leading to an increased conversion rate and qualified leads that may become customers instead of random site traffic.
As a small business owner, every moment counts. This is especially true during times like the pandemic when many small companies were facing closure, staff layoffs and customer loss. But concerted local seo measures can provide powerful ways to expand and grow your company in these uncertain times – giving it a powerful foundation from which it can weather these challenging waters and thrive!
In order for search engines to recognize your online business profile, its details must be complete and accurate. This means displaying not only standard NAP (name, address and phone number), but also holiday hours, description of services provided, images or even videos as part of its listing on websites, directories or social media profiles. Adding this data regularly should help prevent Google penalizing websites that provide outdated or inaccurate data.