Importance Of Local SEO For Small Businesses
The days of traditional marketing are (almost) long gone, and it is time that businesses, whether small or large, invest more time, energy and money into upgrading to a digital marketing strategy. To survive in today’s market, standing out and being visible to your customers is extremely important, especially if you are a young, local business. And the best way for any business to increase its visibility is through the adoption of effective local SEO practices.
Local SEO for small business can help increase the visibility of your brand in the local google search, thus, enabling you to attract more traffic to the website in order to generate more leads and sales.
Why is Local SEO for Small Business Important?
Increased User Traffic
The topmost reason why any business should have an SEO plan in place is to increase the user traffic on your website. With the help of keyword mapping and observation of consumer behavior patterns, SEO can direct users to relevant business pages. When your web pages contain keyword-rich content that is useful for the consumer, your page receives higher traffic which further leads to more desired actions like the increased following, purchases, higher profits, etc.
Increased Online Presence
Having an online presence is extremely important for new-age businesses. Every business must establish its presence in the form of websites, social media pages, blogs, etc. When there are several ventures under the same category, the one with the most relevant, quality content takes the lead in attracting more users.
Brand Value
It is a widely known fact that internet users always visit the first three links on their google search. Local SEO for small business helps ensure that your brand makes it to those top links. Once your page gets to the top, it increases traffic on the webpage and brings value to your brand, ultimately yielding trust and credibility.
Mobile Users Searches Can Generate Sales
Routing traffic to the website is not enough, potential customers should also carry out the desired action. To keep the bounce rate minimum, it is important to ensure that the website has all the core aspects of SEO, that is, its user friendly, clutter-free, and accessible. By including these aspects into your website, SEO practices help your business grow.
Increase Foot Traffic by Reaching Local Customers
The modern-day consumer is accustomed to having all the information they need to make decisions at their fingertips. Nearly 76% of the consumers like to visit a brand’s website before deciding to go to their brick and mortar stores. Hence, it is crucial for any business to provide useful information on the ‘search results’ page or on their website to increase the chances of converting it into an in-store visit. Small businesses can increase their in-store visits by optimising their website content and leveraging Google’s features to share useful information about their brand.
Local SEO Invigorates the Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Marketing through word-of-mouth has constantly proved itself to be effective in driving new customers. When a brand’s customers boast about its quality and recommend it to their peers, it spikes their interest and influences the listeners to consider it for their upcoming purchase. When potential customers come across such positive reviews, it emphasises their buyer’s persona and converts them into consumers.
Cost-Effective
SEO is one of the best cost-effective digital marketing tools that offer a high return on investment, involving fewer costs and resources in comparison to other marketing techniques. Although SEO is a continuous process, once your website ranks high, there is no going back.
Besides its monetary benefits, local SEO for small business also helps the brand to grow its online presence and strengthen its customer base. Small businesses can also use local SEO to set up and maintain their Google business profile and keep up with their customers. The profile would allow your business to monitor its reviews, feed business information directly into Google search and maps.
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