Why should you be concerned about local search engine optimization (SEO) as a small business owner? Most companies today rely on the Internet or hire SEO professionals to attract new customers, sales and lead generation. For those of you who don’t understand what SEO is? It is simply defined as the process of making your website visible on search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo.
If your business hasn’t launched a website yet. You’re really missing out on a lot of potential customers. You want to provide important information to Google. Such as search engines so that they place your website in the top five positions on the results page.
A search engine’s job is to take information typed in by a user and find the most relevant websites in your area using those keywords. Simply put, if you’re not engaging in local SEO. You’re not on the first page of results in your area – and your competitors are!
By investing in local SEO marketing, you stay competitive with other companies while providing brand name exposure 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and you’re sure to get new customers – even when you am sleeping Let’s take a look at the top three reasons why local SEO is so important to small business owners in 2017:
New customers
Internet marketing, including local SEO, attracts people who are already looking for your product or service. They are already convinced of their need, that’s why they are already looking. All you have to do is present yourself on the first page of search engines like Google and voila.
You still have to convince them that your company is a good one to buy, but half the battle is already over. Once they land on your website, if you’ve put in the same hard work to improve the user experience while providing the content they want, you’re well on your way to landing a new customer.
Brand awareness
People subconsciously trust search engine results. If Becki’s Dog Grooming is #1 on search engine results, then Becki’s must be the best. But most customers don’t just go to Becky’s within the next hour to pet their dog! However, they file it somewhere in their mind or bookmark it.
They click on the internet multiple times before making a final decision. If your website is employing great local SEO services, how many times is that user likely to see your company name during their search? What if your company searches for that desired service or product three out of five times? Next thing you know, they’ve clicked through to your website.
Customer feedback
If your website is properly optimized, it will increase your search engine visibility, usability, and credibility, all of which increase traffic to your site. Now that you’re enjoying a high number of visitors, Google Analytics (which every website should have set up) can track valuable information about your visitors.
Find out what browser they use, what keywords, technology they use, their geographic location, the days and times they are most active, how much time they spend on a page, etc.
Get involved in your advertising and determine strategies based on facts rather than just educated guesses. The better you know your customers, the better the product or service you can provide, the higher the return on investment (ROI).
Local search engine optimization is no longer an option for small businesses looking to compete and grow. Local SEO will provide visibility, traffic, reputation, branding and help you gain valuable insights into customer behavior.
Thinking of investing in local search engine optimization services is a very wise choice as it will provide exceptional ROI, business exposure and sales.
