Search engine optimization (SEO) is a body of approaches, strategies and techniques utilized to improve website traffic and to place high in the search results page of Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other search engines. If you have an online business, it isn’t difficult to understand why your website would need SEO. If you have a local brick-and-mortar business, you may wonder, however, if you need local SEO to stay competitive.
Understanding Local SEO
If your business is a big, local success, you may doubt whether it’s possible to make it even more successful. In this age of growing dependence on cellular phones, tablets, computers, and the Internet, the extent to which these telecommunication advances are influencing business is staggering. You would not want your success diminished simply because you failed to understand the significance of local SEO.
Like SEO, it is a process that’s meant to increase your website traffic. In local SEO, the increase in the traffic or search ranking is coming from high local searches. In 2014, it has been documented that over 33 percent of searches were local. The statistics have grown to over 60 percent in 2015. It continues to increase by the day and experts predict that it would be a central strategy, spelling business success or disaster in 2017.
Making Local SEO Work for You
Jumping on the bandwagon could be the easiest thing to do if it all boils down to succeeding or failing. It is important to know, though, how local SEO can make your business ranking high in the search engines. For instance, you should have a website that’s properly optimized – a domain name that correctly describes the nature of business and location, with keywords smartly used throughout the pages, contact information and landmarks, and updated info about your products and offerings.
It would be worthwhile to get your business listed in local directories or to take advantage of the “link strategy,” such as the “share,” “like,” and “follow” features of the social media. Be wary, however, that you don’t link with a business that has a bad reputation. Similarly, take an active interest in getting feedback to improve your products or services. One way is through using online consumer reviews.
Staying in the Game
Billions of people use the Web to find the products and services they need. If used properly, the Internet can help you reach a lot of potential customers. When your business is local, you don’t need everyone, but you need enough to succeed. Establishing a strong online presence in the area where your business operates is important – this is what local SEO can deliver.
Using local SEO, you can update your clients and potential market about a lot of things concerning your services or products, the innovations, promotions, etc. Your website can communicate and engage the target market, using blogs, videos, and other forms of content. With the growth of mobile phones and wearable communication gadgets, expect local SEO to rule. To stay on the curve, invest in local SEO – the next big thing for your business in 2017 and beyond.