Local SEO can help your company rank higher in SERPs (the search engine results pages). It does not matter what kind of business you own. So although you may feel weak against larger companies, local SEO can give you a chance to gain new customers and help you grow your business.

Here are some of the most compelling benefits of local SEO, among many others:

It attracts more local customers.

Local SEO can help you get more customers to visit your website (find and click on it). You can lead organic traffic to your website because those clicking on your site are already interested in your business (services/products). Once your website is ranked higher in the search engines results pages, you can draw attention to many potential customers visiting your website, and more likely, they can buy something from you.

It can make your small business visible to the right buyers.

Generally speaking, if you want to sell a product online, you have to put it in front of people interested in it. For that, it is essential to have a local SEO-optimized website that can make your business visible to the right buyers. In addition, by getting more targeted traffic to your site, you will increase your visibility in the SERPs. That happens because the more traffic you have, the stronger your website can become, leading to higher conversions.

It can increase your local conversions.

Another advantage of local SEO is bringing more people to your website that are more likely to buy your products soon. You will have more conversions by getting these kinds of visitors on your website.

Local SEO can make your brand more recognizable.

Another benefit of local SEO is that it can help you with brand identity. Thereupon, building brand identity along with brand awareness can raise your small business’s reputation and make it more identifiable to potential customers.

Local SEO can help you beat your competitors.

Nothing feels better than stealing customers away from your competitors from a business perspective. A locally optimized SEO website can help you with that. Keep in mind that the more users you take from other competitive businesses, the more profitable your business.

Local SEO strategy for small businesses

The first step to begin a local SEO for your business is finding out your strengths and focusing on your efforts. To realize what you are good at, you have to work with a full-service marketing agency (e.g., SEO Design Chicago) to perform local SEO audits.

Once you do that, here are some local SEO tips to get started:

• Show that you are local
• Update your GMB account (Google My Business)
• Target local keywords
• Set up local terms in your meta titles and descriptions
• Link with other local brands
• Turn your focus on the user’s behavior

Let’s obtain a more in-depth look at these tips and understand better what you  

Show that you are local

The first step in local SEO is showing that you are local. In addition, you have to make sure that your contact is audible and easy to find on your site. Your contact information includes your name and address, phone number, and your email address as well.

Update your “Google My Business” account

A GMB provides diversified information about your website, parking, COVID-19 safety options, hours, etc. Make sure to keep up with your account and audit it frequently to stay on top of the new features.

Aim for local keywords

Before targeting local terms, you should let Google know you operate in a small local business. Then, assess your keywords and ensure that you use specific terms such as local, near me, and shops in [city name]. Google Keyword Planner and Ubersuggest are free resources to help you find the proper keyword research for your business.

Set up local terms in your meta titles and descriptions

Meta titles denote the text on the SERPs, which indicates a web page’s title (or topic). As explained in a previous article, meta descriptions summarize a web page and are shown on Search engine results for lists of local websites. Meta descriptions give the user a general idea of what a web is about and how it is related to the search query.

Adding keywords in your meta titles and descriptions will help your page rank locally.

Link with other local brands

As you know, the Internet is all about connections, and links play a significant role as they are one of the essential parts of search engine optimization (SEO). In addition, links are also used to tell Google about your relevance and quality. Therefore, it is essential that you link to websites that relate to your business industry as this will reflect on your market.

Turn your focus on user behavior.

Due to the global pandemic, you better focus a little more on this issue. It is very important to focus on customers’ needs to help with your local SEO. To help you better understand your audience (or emerging trends), look at Google insights and local search statistics.

Benefits of outsourcing your local SEO marketing

There are many choices to outsourcing your marketing to a local SEO marketing agency. This partnership between you and a marketing agency can certainly be profitable for your company. Here are the reasons why:

• Gaining new skills and development–Creating a good campaign for your company requires a variety of expertise in digital marketing. You may need a copywriter, graphic designer, social media expert, etc. That’s why you need to outsource your marketing to a marketing agency because it has all these skills under its cover.
• Stay current and access all the technology tools – Digital marketers can implement the best marketing strategies and bring success to your company. Staying current with technology and purchasing software can cost you a lot. Still, marketing agencies can help you save money and be more professional in technology as they use it daily.
• Discovering and implementing the best practices for your business – Another advantage of marketing agencies is bringing knowledge of best practices to your company. These agencies know how to tackle your situation, test it, and maintain success based on your company type and niche. This enables faster results and a higher productivity rate.
• Saving time – Marketing agencies can save your time by taking care of all marketing tasks. This allows employees to work efficiently, frees business owners, pushes them to focus on other efforts, etc. Plus, you can get higher results and increase revenue by creating efficient marketing campaigns and focusing more on current projects.
• Saving money –Marketing agencies can save you a lot of money in many ways. You can outsource your marketing instead of paying current employees for assigning digital marketing tasks. Plus, strapping staff with additional responsibilities to your personnel depletes their energy and creativity without adding that local SEO optimization requires expert skills and specific knowledge.
• Creating focus –Another benefit of marketing agencies is that they can free up your time to focus on other tasks you need to complete. That’s because an agency can keep track of marketing summaries and reports, so you can continue moving forward with your company.
• Adapting to ongoing needs –Generally speaking, online marketing requires maintenance, reporting, and adjusting to get the best results possible. It is very important to keep SEO and social media accounts updated frequently and consistently, and outsourcing can be in charge of these tasks in a very professional way.
• Maintaining flexibility – Marketing agencies work on a project-by-project basis, and this provides you the flexibility to increase/decrease their functions. This is the best way to test your relationship with the current marketing agency, and if things don’t pan out, you can move on to another agency.
• Generating innovative ideas –To conclude, marketing agencies can provide new perspectives and creative ideas for your business and can breathe life into your local SEO marketing efforts.

Small business local SEO

As you already know, customers tend to search the Internet about a product before taking the time to visit your store. That’s because people prefer to read reviews of that product before making a purchase. Below you will see some statistics provided by ‘Social Media Today ‘about local SEO and small businesses.

• 46% of all searches on Google are seeking local information.
• 86% of search engine users searched online to find a local business.
• 97% of customers rely on the Internet to find a local business.

As you can see now, every company with a local market can benefit from local SEO. However, here are some of the businesses that can gain from local SEO:

1. Medical Services – including doctor’s offices, urgent care clinics, dentists, etc. are perfect for local SEO.
2. Law offices – when looking for legal counsel, people seek a nearby expert, and that’s why local search is crucial for law firms.
3. Restaurants –their goal is to become a staple in the community. Customer reviews can make/break their local search rankings.
4. Plumbers – local SEO is a prime resource for them.
5. PetSmart services –many people want the very best for their pets, which is why these services are in demand on a local level.
6. Real estate – the key for real state agents is to create pages that target a specific local market

The Google 3-Pack

The goal of small businesses is to be in the top 3 search results on Google (Google 3-Pack). There is no formula to get into the top 3 search results, but at least you can do something to increase your chances. So, here are a few ways to optimize your website for the Google 3-Pack:

• Manage your “Google My Business” profile
• Get 5-star reviews
• Prioritize local SEO
• Run local search ads

Google Ads Badge

Local Google Ads provides a certification known as Google Ads Badge, which indicates that your business is trustworthy and reliable to your potential customers. To obtain a Google Ads Badge, you must operate Google Local Service Ads and provide up-to-date licenses and certifications for your business. Once you provide the correct documentation, it is time for Google to perform a background check and access your online reviews. Your business must maintain high standards. However, if you have dissatisfied customers, Google can refund the customers the cost of the product.

I hope you enjoyed this article for the benefits of local SEO small businesses, and I hope it was helpful for you to improve your local search engine optimization efforts.