Do you want more customers coming through the door? Are you searching for ways to get more buyers in your store? If the answer is yes, you have come to the right place.
You might be wondering how local SEO is relevant to in-store traffic. Most business owners don’t understand the connection between SEO and walk-ins. The thing is that almost 90% of consumers today search online before setting foot inside a local business.
Consumers will search online to find top-ranking businesses locally and read reviews to decide where to spend their money. In years gone by, people used to ask for recommendations from neighbours, friends or family members but that has now been overtaken by search engines.
If you are a small business owner and you still haven’t invested in local SEO, here are a few reasons for you to get started now:
- Almost Half the Searches on Google Are Local
It is estimated that close to 50% of all the searches on Google include location which means people are searching for local businesses. When a location is included, Google provides local business results at the top of search results. If you are able to get your website to the top of local search results, it has the potential to take your business to the next level.
- Local Searches Mean Business
While many people use search engines to find product reviews or information, local searches often result in a purchase. If you run a flower shop and your website is at the top of search results for flowers + the name of your suburb or city, it is more likely that people who are looking to buy flowers will end up at your store.
- Google Maps Is Big Business
Google Maps is also used by people to find a business location. Local SEO is the key to getting your business on Google Maps and getting higher rankings for relevant keywords related to your business.
- Cost-Effective Marketing
When it comes to marketing, local SEO is the most cost-effective marketing strategy compared to all the other methods of marketing your business.
What Services Does a Local SEO Agency Provide?
- Google Business Profile Optimisation — The agency will make sure that your Google business profile listing is optimised and contains all the necessary information about your business. This information includes name, address, opening hours, phone number, website as well as images.
- Local Citation Building – Just like backlinks, local citations are used by Google to determine the relevance of a business as well as the accuracy of business information on Google’s business profile.
- Reviews – They will also help you find ways to encourage customers to leave reviews on Google reviews as well as other popular review websites.
- Links — They will use established methods to get links from other credible local businesses to boost your local search rankings.
- Focus on User Experience — They will make sure that your website is equally accessible on mobile as well as desktop. It will help in providing an excellent user experience and that should help you achieve higher organic rankings.
Final Thoughts
Whether you run an e-commerce business or a local shop, you can’t ignore the importance of maintaining an engaging online presence. Consumers are using search engines, more than ever, to find local businesses and an agency specialising in local SEO can help you achieve higher rankings in local search results.
Don’t forget that if you are not ranking in local search results, your competitors are and they are stealing business from you.