SEO is a very deep concept; you should pay attention to local SEO. However, every business’s dream is to spread its influence over the entire world. Most brands tend to forget that they should begin at home. Optimizing for your local audience is a huge task. Unless you start targeting local audiences in your city, it becomes difficult for you to reach out to a more significant set of audiences across the globe.
Before leaving your mark globally, you should ensure that your brand performs excellently in a local market. It is first vital to gather its trustworthiness from the target customers. Before you spread your wings locally, finding an audience abroad that is ready for your new products and services will be complicated.
According to a recent survey which was conducted in the year 2017, more than 40% of consumers used local search at least once per week to find a local business. More and more customers are turning to local search for the answers regarding their community and businesses within it.
A strong local focus on SEO will improve your ranking to a great extent, and when customers do a local search, they also choose a business from the given local pack.
Following are some significant reasons for focusing on local SEO before going global-
1. It makes you more competitive.
Even if you are not trying to invest in local SEO service in Lahore, you can be sure that all the other kinds of businesses within your niche are. It means that they are a step ahead by default. Thus, they are getting all of your potential customers. Even if you are the best and the most innovative business in your niche, it is useless as no one will be able to find you. When your competitors show up on the first page of the local search engine results, they take control and have authority.
Suppose you sell cosmetic products and the customer’s type ‘cosmetic shops near me, it should show your name.
If you do not invest in your local SEO, you are not on the front page. This means that people won’t ever see your business unless they do not find what they are looking for. Most people tend to click on the first link they come across. By investing in your local SEO, you will rise up and compete with other local businesses within your niche.
2. You draw in visitors and newcomers.
The local customers are vital as they will be fruitful for your business. However, you can also attract people visiting your area by investing in local SEO.
Visitors do not have a clue about what kinds of businesses are there in your city. When you use local SEO, they will find you before they find anyone else. Eventually, they will also discover that the business is an organic search instead of a paid one.
This is true for the people who are new to your area. When some new residents move in, they do not have a clue about the local businesses. If you want to pitch your business to this new customer, you should put your best foot forward as soon as they arrive.
Many people avail of the services of SEO Canberra, a professional SEO agency company that provides different types of SEO services to its customers.
3. People want to buy locally.
Mega corporations are the ones which tend to be far more successful, even in small towns, than the smaller local businesses. However, this does not mean that the people are not interested in supporting their local business owners. More people are turning to local businesses to show their support, thereby stimulating the local economy.
Many people want to opt for local brands and give them a chance rather than availing of the services of the brand which has already established itself. You should establish yourself as a local business, drive more traffic, and discover how many customers are interested in lifting your business.
4. Phone searches drive sales.
Let’s say you go on a walk and suddenly desire to visit a bakery. What will you do? You will pull out your smartphone and look for the nearest bakery. You will then see the nearest bakery, which popped up on your phone. Hence, phone searches are known to drive more sales.
5. It is inexpensive.
Local SEO is the most inexpensive way to advertise your business, and when you invest in good SEO, there are costs involved. However, these costs are associated with long-term results.
When your website has good SEO, you should continue boosting yourself up the ladder. Thus, you will always have an SEO-friendly website without recurring costs.
If you choose PPC instead of organic SEO, you will have to pay a cost to stay on the front page. Instead of PPC, you should go for SEO which gives you organic results for a lower price than the other advertising options.
What are the best practices for Local SEO?
Following are some practices for the local SEO-
- Claim the business
Every business should claim its listing on Google, Yahoo and other search engines.
- Optimize the business website as well as the social profiles
You should make use of traditional SEO practices and include local keywords and add content throughout your website. You should make use of your city in various titles and long-tail phrases. You should also include your business address in the footer. It is crucial to make sure that your website runs on mobile platforms for getting a ranking boost from Google.
- Develop local content
You should write blog pages and press releases which mention nearby locations. It is also important to develop content which highlights the customers from those areas. This will give you an SEO benefit and it will also attract more customers in that particular area.
- Build citations on online directories
Citations help the customer and search engines to find you a lot more easily. You should place these citations throughout various online directories.
