What is Local SEO?
Local Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Local SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a powerful digital marketing strategy geared towards optimising a business's online presence to attract more business from relevant local searches.
These searches take place on Google and other search engines.
Here’s a look into what local SEO is and why it's crucial for any business targeting local consumers:
Definition of Local SEO
Local SEO focuses on increasing a business's visibility in localised search results.
The goal is to ensure that your business appears prominently when customers in your local area search for products or services related to your business.
How Local SEO Works
- Google My Business (GMB): This tool allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. By verifying and editing your business information, you can help customers find you and tell them the story of your business.
- Keywords: Utilising local keywords that include the city, neighborhood, or region names where you operate can help Google understand where your target audience is located.
- Reviews and Ratings: Encouraging satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on your Google My Business profile can boost your business's local search rankings. High ratings also foster greater trust among potential customers.
- On-page SEO for Local Keywords: This involves optimizing your website’s title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and content to include geographical search terms relevant to your business.
- Local Backlinks: Earning links from reputable local websites (like chamber of commerce websites or local business directories) can enhance your search engine credibility and prominence.
Importance of Local SEO
- Targeted Geographic Campaigns: Local SEO allows businesses to target campaigns to extremely specific geographic areas. This is more efficient than broad-spectrum SEO because it connects with customers who are nearby and more likely to be looking for your services.
- Increased Traffic and Conversions: By optimising for local search, you can increase the likelihood that local consumers will find your website, visit your physical location, and convert into customers.
- Mobile Integration: With the rise of mobile internet access, more customers are searching for local information on the go. Local SEO helps ensure that mobile users can easily find your business, whether they're at home or on the move.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Compared to traditional advertising methods like local newspapers or outdoor advertising, local SEO is cost-effective because it targets users who are actively searching for your products and services online.
In today's digital age, investing in local SEO is not just beneficial; it's essential for any local business looking to grow and thrive.
It connects your business with potential customers precisely when they need you, giving you a real competitive edge. Whether it’s a person looking for the nearest coffee shop, someone in need of a plumber, or a patient searching for the closest clinic, local SEO makes sure your business is visible and accessible.
Local search can be defined as:
‘a process for increasing search visibility for businesses that serve their communities face-to-face.
These can be brick-and-mortar businesses with a physical location or service-area businesses that operate throughout a certain geographic area.’
In your business, local search engine optimization should be an integrated approach to marketing your business for local businesses as a tactic for providing results that are relevant to a searcher based on their current location.
Local search engine optimization employs various techniques to improve the position of your business in local search results.
Local search rankings result when a user includes a local keyword phrases in their search or the search engine determines their location from the device being used.
For example, a local search phrase would be “electrician in Newcastle.”
Why Should I Care about Local SEO?
Local SEO isn't just another layer in the complex world of online marketing; it's a vital component, especially for businesses with a physical presence or those that serve specific geographic areas.
Here's why you should care about local SEO and how it can significantly influence your business's success:
Amplified Online Visibility
Local SEO dramatically increases your visibility online, making your business more accessible to a local audience. When someone in your area searches for a product or service you offer, local SEO helps to ensure your business appears in those search results. This is crucial because:
- Immediate Relevance: Local searches are often made by users who are at the ready-to-buy stage, meaning they're more likely to convert from online searchers into physical customers.
- Reduced Competition: By focusing on local search terms and local clientele, you're not competing against every business in your industry—just those in the same geographic vicinity. This smaller competition pool increases your chances of standing out.
High Conversion Rates
- Local Searches Lead to Action: Studies have shown that local searches lead to a higher likelihood of an in-store visit and more immediate transactions. For instance, searchers are more likely to call a local business or stop by a store after finding it in a local search.
- Tailored Results: Search engines like Google prioritize providing the most relevant results to users. This means if someone in your area is looking for the services you offer, Google is more likely to direct them to your business if you have a strong local SEO strategy.
Integration with Mobile Technology
- Rise of Mobile Usage: With the increasing use of smartphones, many people perform searches on the go. Local SEO optimizes your content for mobile devices, enhancing the user experience and improving your chances of capturing attention in these mobile moments.
- Geo-targeted Searches: Mobile devices often provide location data, which means search engines can tailor search results based on the user’s proximity to businesses. This makes local SEO indispensable for capturing nearby customers.
Building Community and Trust
- Engagement with Local Customers: Local SEO allows you to engage more deeply with your local community. This isn't just about making sales; it's about building a network of relationships that boost your business's reputation and customer loyalty.
- Trust Through Local Presence: Having a strong local online presence helps build trust with your audience. When your business appears in local directories and has consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) information across platforms, it gains credibility among consumers.
Cost-Effective Marketing
- Focused Advertising Spend: Investing in local SEO is more cost-effective compared to traditional advertising. Local SEO targets users who are actively seeking your services, reducing waste and increasing the effectiveness of your marketing spend.
- Long-Term Rewards: Unlike paid advertising which stops the moment you cease payments, the benefits of local SEO build over time. The more you invest in it, the greater your online authority grows, which can result in sustained traffic and customer acquisition.
Even if you're already implementing organic SEO strategies, understanding the specific dynamics of local SEO and integrating it into your marketing efforts can greatly enhance your reach and impact in your local area. This isn’t just about getting found—it’s about being found by the right people at the right time, which is essential for any local business aiming to thrive in a competitive marketplace.
This is called ‘intent marketing’
The concept of 'intent marketing' is crucial to understanding why local SEO is so effective. Intent marketing is about connecting with potential customers based on the intention behind their searches. When it comes to local SEO, the intent is typically to find a nearby solution for an immediate need, making this type of marketing particularly powerful for local businesses.
Here’s a deeper look into how intent marketing works within local SEO and the compelling statistics that underscore its importance:
Understanding Intent in Local Searches
Local SEO taps into 'high-intent' search queries, which are performed by users who have a specific intent to engage in a transaction or to find a business. These intents can be broadly categorised into:
- Informational Intent: Looking for information about local services or businesses (e.g., “What is the best Italian restaurant near me?”).
- Navigational Intent: Searching for a specific business or location (e.g., “Joe’s Pizza in Downtown Chicago”).
- Transactional Intent: Ready to make a purchase or engage a service (e.g., “book an appointment with a plumber nearby”).
Each of these search types represents a different stage in the customer journey, and local SEO helps businesses capture potential customers at every stage, especially those closest to making a purchase.
Impactful Statistics on Local Search
The importance of local SEO is further emphasized by compelling statistics that highlight how consumers interact with local searches:
- Main Discovery Tool: Over 60% of searchers use internet searches as their primary method to find local businesses. This demonstrates the shift from traditional methods like yellow pages to digital solutions, making local SEO critical for visibility.
- Quick Conversions: An astonishing 50% of consumers who perform a local search on their smartphone visit a physical store within 24 hours. This quick turnaround from search to store visit is a key advantage of optimizing for local intent.
Benefits of Intent Marketing through Local SEO
- Increased Engagement: By aligning with the searcher's intent, businesses can offer precisely what local customers are looking for at the moment they need it, leading to higher engagement rates.
- Higher Conversion Rates: Since local SEO captures consumers who are further down the purchase funnel, it naturally leads to higher conversion rates compared to more generalized SEO.
- Cost Efficiency: Marketing efforts can be more efficiently allocated by targeting individuals who have demonstrated a clear intent to purchase or engage, reducing waste in advertising spend.
- Building Trust and Loyalty: By being easily discoverable and available when local customers need your services, your business builds trust. Over time, this can translate into increased customer loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals.
Intent marketing, particularly through local SEO, is not just about being seen—it's about being found by the right people at the right time with the right information. This strategic alignment between business offerings and customer needs drives the effectiveness of local SEO, turning searches into visits, and visits into sales. For any local business aiming to capitalize on digital opportunities, understanding and implementing local SEO is indispensable.
Still not convinced?
Take these local search statistics into consideration.
- 72% of consumers who did a local search visited a store within five miles.
- 30% of mobile searches are related to a location.
- 71% of people say they look up and confirm the location of a business before going to it for the first time.
- 78% of local-mobile searches result in offline purchases.
If all this is not enough, here’s a few more reasons you should be focusing on Local SEO for your business:
- improves your overall online brand awareness
- can be a significant driver of leads
- can improve sales
- can help drive in-store traffic to your business.
If you are not using local SEO as a part of your marketing strategy, you should.
