When you have a physical store and you work in a specific area, your success depends very much on attracting and retaining local customers who live in the surrounding area. Local SEO is a series of strategies which are designed to reach people located in a particular area.
This type of SEO applies a range of techniques to tell a search engine where a business is located. When you are looking for a local company to create your child’s birthday cake or a builder to complete some home improvements, how do you find it?
The chances are you will use Google and local search to complete your research. An effective SEO strategy is important for driving more people to your business, whether you have one small store or several. There are so many reasons why you should spend time on local SEO and this guide will tell you why it is so important.
Local search engine optimization isn’t just about local shops anymore. Businesses with a strong online presence are taking advantage of a significant change in the way consumers are behaving.
Rather than browsing through the Yellow Pages or wandering down the High Street to look for products or services, people are heading online to find out what they should buy and from who. Almost any business can take advantage of the benefits associated with local SEO.
Here are some LOCAL SEO updates
Following on from Google’s Pigeon update in 2014, the importance of local SEO has only continued to grow, resulting in many SEOs starting to focus on local efforts.
#1 Local Business
It’s a fact that Google loves local business. As the years have gone by, Google has demonstrated a slight favoritism toward local businesses. While the majority of ranking factors relate to the authority and history of a website, Google wants to give users what they want and that’s when it presents local results in the SERP. Google also enables small business owners who often have limited resources, to succeed online and local SEO is just one of the ways that this can be achieved.
#2 Tailored Results
Google also shows the preference for presenting personalized results. Although the customized and predictive search features are relatively limited, the search engine is able to deliver results based on the individual searcher. When you are logged in to Google, your location and search history will play a significant role in how results are displayed.
#3 Proximity Searches
Local SEO is becoming increasingly important as the use of mobile devices continues to grow. Every year, the number of online searches that are made ‘on the go’ is significantly increasing. Users can now search for services in the local area and proximity search will display results that are in the vicinity. Local SEO will become more focused on specific locations rather than regional or city based searches.
#4 Increased Competition
Every year, millions of new businesses launch themselves online, choosing a web host and creating a stunning website. However building an online presence and competing with market leaders is becoming increasingly difficult so business owners are having to look for specific, and smaller niches that they can tap into in order to become visible in the SERPs. Local SEO is just one way that small businesses can do this.
Local SEO provides an incredibly targeted approach to online marketing. Using a variety of strategies and techniques you can strategically position your business on search engines and platforms so you are seen by potential customers in your local area. If you own a local business this becomes even more important because you can establish a niche area for your business which gives you more chances of competing against the larger companies who often dominate the results in the search engine results pages.
It will be good if you can get your SEO work done by a marketing agency and if you are from Singapore you can get your SEO service in Singapore.
this is a great read!cause a lot of people just look pass SEO in digital realm.thank you so much for sharing this!