Small businesses who depend on local clientele sometimes don’t think that their Google ranking is important. After all, they have word-of-mouth, and their regular customers need to live in their area. However, this is a wrong approach – the truth is, small businesses who put effort into local search engine optimization (SEO) reap rewards many times over. This is especially true for service providers, who can optimize their chances of being found by potential clients when people in their area search for the services or products your business offers.
How Local Search Engine Optimization Can Help You
So what exactly is local SEO? Local SEO involves any strategies that make your business appear higher in the location-specific results that pop up on a Google search listings page. When somebody searches for a local product or service on Google, such as “Personal Injury Attorneys In Tampa,” or “Best Chiropractor Near Me,” the results include a map with a list of businesses that could fit these delineations. If your business is on top your local SEO game, then you are much more likely to pop up on that map and thus be the product or service provider that these customers are giving their business (and money) to. The vast majority of users are more likely to click on the links that pop up first as well as the ones that pop up on the app. Moreover, 60% of all smartphone users have directly contacted a business through the local search results.
Basically, if you’re not a household name like Chanel or Kleenex, if you’re not on the Google Map, you may as well not exist in the minds of your target clientele
How Small Businesses Can Use Local SEO
1.) Set up a Google Business Profile: Whatever pops up on the Google map is pulled from your Google Business Profile, which is why it’s essential to claim your profile and make it as complete as you can. Your profile should include:
- Your physical address
- Your business name as it appears on the website and storefront
- Your hours of operation
- Your business category
- A brief description of your business
- A local phone number
- Your products and services
- Any other relevant information to your products/services
2.) Manage reviews on rating sites people use for locals: Track what people are saying about you and engage with site viewers by claiming your business on the rating site and filling out your business profile. Try to monitor and respond to views in a professional and timely fashion.
3.) Make your website local to your customers: Google WILL check if your site has locally relevant information, so include your neighborhood, address opening hours, and local phone number on your homepage. Offer the information in text that is cleanly formatted in order for Google to index it easily.
Contact Us Today
Local SEO is integral to the success of a small business – especially if you are a professional service provider who depends on local clients. If you don’t want to deal with the digital marketing side of things yourself, call Affordable Digital Marketing to leave it to the professionals so that you can focus on what you do best… growing your business.