Just Imagine you are at a new location and don’t know much about the place and are hungry and want to grab something really quick. What will you do?
You might search for nearby hotels or cafes at that location on maps, won’t you? But how might you decide which hotel or restaurant you will go to?
Some might say by reading their online reviews, their menus, etc and after doing all the research you decided to visit one particular place. But for you to find that place to visit is important. What I mean to say is, that if that hotel didn’t have any online existence you wouldn’t have been able to visit the hotel.
Online or Digital Marketing is also important for local businesses. It is observed that more than 50% of the voice search results are related to local businesses. However, having just a local business profile is not enough for you to gain new customers. It should be well-optimised for your business to rank in the top 3 of the Google My Business Profile because there would be very few people who would scroll down their screen and view other profiles.
In such a situation Local SEO helps to optimise your business profile to increase the rank and visibility on the Maps.
Undеrstanding Local SEO Markеting:
SEO and Google My Business are the techniques businesses use to rank higher on the search engine. Any online business depends on it. Your company won’t succeed without effective SEO, as the website will not appear in Google searches when your potential customers search for the service or product you are offering.
The area of SEO, known as “local” or “map” search engine optimization, aids in expanding small and medium-sized enterprises. This particular kind of SEO has grown in favour recently.
You can reach the local population by using local SEO. For example, if you own a salon, local searchers searching for “salon shop near me” will find your business if you have optimized your local SEO.
Important Componеnts of Local SEO:
1. Googlе My Businеss (GMB) Optimization:
The first step is to create, verify & claim your Google My Business (GMB) Profile. The optimisation of your local business profile is a very important step. The Title, Description, Address, Contact Details, Website (If your business has one) Services, Products, Reviews, Service Timing, etc need to be optimised and updated regularly.
2. Local Kеywords and On-Pagе Optimization:
Research the terms and keywords local clients use to find your goods or services. Include these keywords effectively in your website’s page copy, meta description, title, etc., to have an added advantage in the organic search with better search rankings.
3. Local Citations:
Local Citation means how many times your business is getting shown online. In Local SEO, a local citation is a crucial component as your brand name has a high chance of getting new customers as it is getting references from other websites including local b2b directories, local classifieds, etc. But need to keep in mind to find relevant websites that are related to your business.
4. Customеr Rеviеws:
Your Customer Reviews have a powerful impact on the customers to make any decision. Customers do thorough research about the businesses including positive reviews. It is important to give review replies to your customers as it gives a good impression to both the existing and new customers. Be honest and don’t get involved in getting fake reviews that can be harmful to your business reputation.
5. Local Link Building:
Earlier we talked about the things that can be seen on the Google My Business Profile. But what can’t be seen on the profile are backlinks. Backlinks are the hidden heroes that can help rank your profile.
6. Regular Post Updates
Google My Business has powerful features to “Add Updates”, “Add Offer” & “Add Event” that can help you to educate your audience about your business through regularly “Adding Updates, Events & Offers in your business profile.
Bеnеfits of Local SEO Markеting:
1. Increased Traffic
Did you know 46% of all Google searches are for local information? Every company benefits from organic traffic. If you have registered your business online, you will be visible to customers for a longer period, regardless of the size of your company and the services/products you offer. Local SEO enables you to increase traffic within good SEO rankings. A rightly optimized Google business profile ensures that your company’s online visibility increases, irrespective of the physical location.
2. Improved Rates of Conversion
Increasing conversion rate and drawing in new visitors to your website are two advantages of local SEO. Joel House Search Media reports that 28% of local searches lead to sales. Therefore, it is undeniable that local SEO improves conversion rates—more visitors lead to more purchases. When local customers are prepared to make a purchase, you can increase your chances of becoming the point of reference for their purchases by projecting yourself as an authority in your area.
3. Lower Advertising Expenses
Local audiences help local businesses grow. For this reason, they spend more money on advertising channels, including hoarding, local television commercials, booklets, and banners. All of this comes at a huge financial expense. However, what if we told you that you could save a tonne of money by simply improving your local SEO? It has been demonstrated that more than 80% of smartphone users choose the “near me” option while searching for a specific kind of business. So, you can lower or minimize all of your offline advertising expenses by strengthening your local SEO. For that, you need to add your business to the business listings with the right business hours and add relevant keywords and content for your business’s success.
4. Persistent Business Development
Any local SEO campaign for particular business profiles aims to improve search engine rankings and drive more traffic through organic search. Prospects for marketing and sales rise as a result. Increased sales translate into more interested customers, which prompts a deliberate phase of corporate expansion. Spending money and effort on local SEO metrics is essential to grow your local business by creating more happy customers.
5. Establish connections with nearby businesses
These days, healthy competition is the way business is conducted. Local SEO with perfectly optimized business profiles by an experienced SEO expert allows you to establish a rapport with your rival; you must be asking, how? Links from your nearby business will come from cross-promoting goods and services. Both parties stand to gain from the arrangement since it will enable both businesses to achieve the desired level of recognition. Not only that, but it will also make you more visible online in search queries that affect the ranking factor positively.
Conclusion:
Google My Business Profile can be a powerful tool for reaching a new audience and one of its main benefits is it is absolutely free of cost. Using it efficiently with proper optimisation, backlink, and citation can result in to attract new heights in business.
