If you are a local business, your top priority will be to draw customers who are in the vicinity of your locality. A local SEO strategy helps generate a better awareness of your business in your area. Local businesses can actually grow in leaps and bounds by implementing well-structured local SEO tactics. Local SEO gained a lot of attention after Google rolled out the Pigeon algorithm in 2014, which focuses on providing more useful, relevant and accurate local search results.
Google generates its 3-pack local results for a minimum of 93% of searches which have a local intent. A statistics reports 71% of people acknowledging that they research a store online before they actually visit the brick and mortar store. So, it should now make more sense that having a proper local SEO strategy can lead to an upturn in your business.
Google’s affinity towards local businesses
46% of the total queries typed in Google are done with an intent to find local information. Therefore, Google is keen on generating local results that are most relevant to the query typed. Common location-based searches include looking for addresses/locations, phone numbers, driving directions, ratings and reviews. Therefore, if you stick to good local SEO strategy, Google would list your local business in its top search engine results.
Surge in mobile users
The increased usage of mobiles has demanded more precise location-based results. Customers look for restaurants, hotels and hospitals nearby while traveling to a new place or area. Furthermore, these statistics prove important for business in terms of conversion rates: 78% of local mobile searches result in offline purchases. 50% of customers who looked for brands in the vicinity have visited the store within the same day. It means the conversion rates are high if you have a good digital presence.
Ranking in the first page is important
If you are a local brand, your direct competitors are the ones located in your neighborhood. With a little effort to boost your digital presence, you can see a substantial increase in traffic and conversion rates. Most customers generally do not tend to look to the second page of the search engine results. So, it is necessary to find a place for your business in the first SERP (search engine result page). For this, Local SEO is a paramount necessity.
Cost-effective
Traditional means of advertising such as print ads and radio promotions are typical for local businesses and could call for a larger slice of your budget. However, local SEO is comparatively cheaper and can bring forth brilliant results.
If your company is yet to formulate a local SEO strategy, do not delay in adapting one. With these many advantages of a local SEO, your business can definitely soar!