After years of strategic analysis of trillions of user search behaviors, Google realized about 46% of all searches look to retrieve local information. So, to improve user experience, the tech-giant included proximity aspects in the local search algorithm to filter results and be more precise geographically—which is the actual description of local SEO.
So, why does local SEO matter to Small Business Owners?
Before the adoption of this strategy, small business owners had no place in the online space—well-established brands dominated even for searches with local intent. But now that local SEO here, businesses that offer local products and services have every reason to increase their online visibility.
Some of the reasons you need to deploy it in your marketing campaigns include:
It boosts your local pack ranking
The top sections of Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) consist of two parts: Paid ads at the top and map listings (local pack) just below it. Moz reports that about 86 percent of visitors find what they are looking for in the local pack section. That’s why your local SEO agency should strive to get your services here.
Provides customized results for each user
Unlike organic searches where you will receive typical results regardless of your location, local searches return results using the “near me” factor. For instance, if you google “coffee” at your workplace, and do the same when you get home, the results will be different.
Here is the takeaway
Connecting with the best local SEO agency that truly understands the ins and outs of local SEO will help you rank high for local searches, and also get noticed.
What Should I Expect to Receive with My Local SEO Campaign?
Exposure to a wide range of local customers
As we have just mentioned, ranking high on map listings will help you connect with many customers within your locality. The good thing is, since most of these clients are around your store, chances are they will become long-term clients.
An improvement in your online visibility
The primary goal of every marketing strategy is always to create business awareness, and so are local SEO campaigns. Making those around you know that you can solve their problems will bring you tremendous success.
Think of how you search for services online. Now, that is what everyone else is doing. So, when someone googles “sunglasses”, which is your business, local SEO simply brings your services right on top of their screens!
Fair competition even with established brands
Remember, local SEO campaigns go way beyond the usual SEO strategies like content marketing and social media marketing. So, regardless of how well your competitor has invested in those other strategies, you will always rank better for local searches.
You will gain authority and trust
Statistics show that the Click Through Rate (CTR) is highest for the first result on SERPs, which means most users trust sites that rank high. So you can be sure, if your website ranks first, you will earn trust among your locals, drive more traffic, and eventually increase your revenue.
How Do I Know if My Local SEO Services are Working?
The best test: Keyword variation search on your browser
Search a variation of the keywords that you were hoping to rank for on your browser. For instance, if you run a Pizza inn in Houston, you can search: “Pizza inn Houston”, “Best pizza in Houston”, “Pizza in Houston”, etc. Then check your performance on the local pack.
Switch to an incognito window and do your evaluation
Selecting a private (incognito) window will ensure you don’t receive manipulated results from your search history. So your search results will reflect exactly how the local SEO campaign worked.
Check whether your website is listed on Google
Google listing outlines your business details: name, services, location, etc. All you need to test is—google a combination of these details, and you should see it. In case you don’t, perhaps your local SEO agency did not do the listing for you—so you should enquire.
Evaluate your website pages indexing
Type site:[domain name] on your browser address bar and hit ENTER. Expect to see a list of all pages available on your website (under your domain). If you cannot see it, that tells you Google has no idea your site exists—it is not indexed, and so it cannot be ranked. But your local SEO agency should fix that just fast.
What Should I Do if My Local SEO Company isn’t Doing a Good Job?
Request a report of what they have implemented so far
No report after a couple of months? That should raise some serious concerns! Any genuine local SEO company will regularly provide reports such as an SEO audit, the content they have written, profile link analysis, guest posts, etc. Now, if it is past four months and they haven’tdone any of these yet, do not hold on. ASK!
Enquire the strategies in place to heal your SEO
If the agency provides a report that genuinely shows there is some progress, well and good. You can now ask for a plan that projects what they hope to achieve going forward. Also, be sure the goals are realistic. But if you aren’t confident with their services, just proceed to the next action!
Quit for another agency
Time is precious, especially in business. So don’t let the agency hurt your goals. Can you estimate how much you gain from your website every day? Now multiply that by the months your site has been “down”. Quite a loss, right?
That’s why you need to sit back, do in-depth background research once again on the agency to go for, and bring them on board.
The takeaway
Local SEO is a crucial determinant of whether your business thrives or survives the stiff online competition. For years now, it has been the reason behind the many success stories of small business owners. But realizing this success is not very simple. Your SEO agency must do a fantastic job; you should be aware of how to evaluate that, and how to respond when things are going south.
Now, because this failure happens quite often, you need to be certain that your local SEO agency is competent enough.
Fortunately, competence is what definesBizIQ! We provide the best local SEO services in the digital world. For years now, we have been successfully helping small businesses get their services to the top of the local pack for the keywords they want to rank for. So, why nottry us today?
