Local SEO Benefits You Should Know As Small Business Owner | Is Local SEO Right For You?

Learn more about local SEO in 2022 to reach your local audience whenever they search for your products and services online.

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You’ve probably already read or heard about Local SEO or local search engine optimisation. At some point in time, you might have received an email marketing about local SEO or targeted by ads on Facebook, Google, Youtube, or even Instagram. You probably got annoyed too!

But the million-dollar question is, is it practical for your small business?

Do you want to grow your small business by attracting more eyeballs from your local target market and converting them to leads and paying customers? Do you want your contact information to be visible when the users within your area search for your products and services online?

If the answer to both of these questions is a yes, then local SEO is the right marketing tool to help you reach your local market.

What is local SEO?

A local search is a consumer’s search for something targeted to an exact location. And suppose that particular area is where you manage your business. In that case, you will want the local search results to lead these consumers to you.

Local search engine optimisation or local SEO is part of an SEO strategy to help increase the local visibility of small businesses in Google’s search results or any search engine. It targets the local community, where search engines like Google provide results that are specific to that area.

As a small business, you can use local SEO to boost your online presence in your area. Local SEO will help your small business stand out, attract potential consumers’ attention, and turn them into purchasers.

What is the benefit of local SEO?

Local SEO is an economical marketing solution that can help small businesses gain local customers traction. Over the years, local SEO has gained popularity because of its unique features that help small businesses grow without the need to spend much.

You can set up a business profile on Google My Business or Facebook, for example, for free.

Local SEO is integral to your local success because it gives your small business the visibility it needs in your local community. Local SEO is a strategy that SEO experts love to use to help your website, landing page, or business information rank higher on the organic local search results pages.

Below are some of the benefits that your small business can reap from local SEO.

1. It attracts quality traffic.

With the help of local SEO, you can attract more eyeballs/visibility in local search results page leading to more quality web organic traffic.

2. It leads to better conversion rates.

Is your business not located in the best area with higher foot traffic? Is your business new in the market? If this is the case, it would be difficult for your business to penetrate the market.

You can leverage local SEO to attract organic web traffic to increase your sales without spending much on costly advertisements.

3. Less advertising costs.

Local SEO shouldn’t be an expensive service, really. And if you have the patience and time to learn it, you can do it yourself! And this is coming from us at Netbloom – an SEO agency in New Zealand, and we’re cheering for you! Let us know if you need free consultation for Local SEO, and we can definitely arrange a time for you.

4. Scale Business Growth.

Local SEO focuses on increasing your visibility on different local online channels and organic search results. This means your business can attract local customers and get more leads and sales.

5. Long-Lasting Results

Unlike advertising where you stop seeing results once you stop paying; you don’t need to worry about not getting results when you stop doing SEO. Investing in quality SEO means you get to enjoy long-term results in terms of ranking higher on organic search results and enjoying high CTRs or Clickthrough rates.

6. It gives you a competitive advantage.

Online users love to explore online for products and services that matter to them. Search engines like Google are the go-to place for that. Local SEO is the answer if you want your business details or website to be seen in local organic search results.

This is why investing in local SEO is the easiest way to level the playing field with your local competitors who relies on their huge digital and advertising budget.

7. Helps increase your local reviews

You can generate more reviews on sites like Yelp and Google when you set up a profile on these platforms. Getting local reviews is beneficial for your business in many other significant ways. Google algorithm will see it as a sign of a better customer experience. Consumers look into reviews as a basis before purchasing from local businesses.

8. Develop healthy competition.

Local SEO can help you build healthy competition with your competitors by cross-promoting products. It works by promoting your competitor’s products and services and linking to them and vice-versa. It definitely is a win-win situation since both of your companies can enjoy increased recognition and online visibility.

9. Secure Google's 3 Pack.

Google 3-Pack is a way of displaying top local business results on the SERPs. Through Google 3-Pack, a local business will appear on the first three results of local searchers of a keyword. It sits above organic search results, produces results that match the customers’ needs and provides the essential details they look for whenever they are looking to purchase a product.

10. Optimisation of mobile devices

Many purchases happen on mobile devices because they are too convenient to use. You want to provide your users with a fantastic experience and increase positive brand interaction by optimising your website for desktop devices and mobile devices.

11. Support other local businesses

Local businesses can benefit from a strong community where consumers support local businesses located in their area. This kind of camaraderie that results in community building can boost the morale of local business owners. As a local business owner, it would be helpful for you to let your potential clients know that you are within their reach.

Who can benefit from local SEOs and why?

Local SEO can help businesses with customers in a specific area, such as retail stores, service businesses, restaurants and hotels, hospitals, banks, construction companies, etc.

These are the businesses that can get take advantage of local SEO to increase their traffic and sales:

1. Dental/Urgent Care Clinics
2. Real Estate
3. Architectural/Engineering firms
4. Coffee shops
5. Restaurants
6. Law firms
7. Advertising Agencies
8. Pastry Shops
9. Repair Shops
10. Car Accessories Shops
11. Dance Studio
12. Veterinary Clinics
13. Hospitals
14. Doctor's Offices
15. Auto Supply Stores
16. Beauty Salon
17. Car Showroom
18. Shopping Malls/Convenience Stores
19. Tourism Businesses/Ticketing Outlets
20. Car Rental
21. Motorcycle/Bicycle Shops
22. Hardware Stores
23. Pharmacy/Drugstores
24. Novelty Stores
25. Gasoline Stations
26. Liquor Stores

Local SEO tools that we should know about

As a small local business owner, you know how challenging it can be to stay ahead of the game. It is not only about attracting traffic but making sure they convert as leads and paying customers.

Attracting new customers in your local area can be difficult if you’re not using the right tools. If you choose the right SEO tool, you can efficiently manage your SEO efforts and engage more with your audience.

Here are some local SEO tools that you should know:

Yext

Yext is a one search platform with limitless search solutions. It can update your local listings, review monitoring, and respond to reviews and queries to increase your brand reputation. You can also claim your yahoo business listing with Yext. Yext plan starts at $4 weekly or $199 annually.

BrightLocal

This is one of the most recommended local SEO tools out there. It can audit, track, and update your local citations across multiple local directories in an easy way. Brightlocal plan starts at $29 monthly and it’s perfect if your business is targetting 1-3 locations.

MozLocal

MozLocal is another powerful tool specialising in the reputation management concerns of small, local, and growing businesses. It mainly boosts your visibility on Google thru publishing your location data that automatically distributes to your partner directories and maintains its consistency in rankings.

Growth Bar

Growthbar is one of the tools that bloggers and content writers love. It has an AI writer than can help users write blog posts efficiently. But that’s not all, its features include keyword tracking, competitor analysis, paid and organic traffic, and many more.

SEMrush Listing Management Tool

SEMrush Listing Management Tool is a simple and user-friendly way of updating information on your business profile, such as name, phone number, address, or website, in online directories worldwide. It is easy for you to track your listings, reviews, and data using SEMrush Listing Management Tool.

The caveat is that it is limited to some countries, eg: it is currently not available in New Zealand.

Local Listing is an add-on feature of SemRush priced at $20/month.

BiQ

BiQ can help you track up to 1,000 keywords in real time. BiQ plan starts at $55.

Local Falcon

It is an amazing tool that can predict your local SEO score. The tool also provides solutions on how to fix and improve them, eg: optimise your Google my business profile, respond to a review, upload photos, create posts, etc. Local Falcom plan starts at $24.99.

GeoRanker

GeoRanker can help you track your keywords in any location. You might want to try Georanker tool if you have a business operating in different locations and want to scale your local visibility in different places. Georanker plan starts at $99.

KeywordTool.io

It is an easy-to-use keyword research tool and it provides insight on different long-tail keywords for your local audience that you might want to target to increase your web organic conversions. Its free version can generate up to 750+ long-tail keyword suggestions.

Synup

Synup can track your local listing and citation inconsistencies across 200 different directories. Pricing starts at $30 per location.

Grid My Business

Grid My Business is a great supplement tool if you’re using Google My Business. The tool can help you track your and your competitors’ ranking performance. Its plan starts at $290 annually.

Creating your local strategy

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to local SEO strategy. If you want to maximise your local visibility then need a Local SEO roadmap that will guide you on your local presence and organic growth.

A dedicated local SEO strategy will 100% ensure your local SEO success. Feel free to give us a call for free SEO consultation or visit our website for more information.

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